The FBI sent a confidential alert on Friday to warn that cyber criminals are planning a global ‘cash-out scheme’ using malware to hack ATMs, also known as ATM jackpotting. The most vulnerable targets are smaller banks without sophisticated security systems. “The FBI has obtained unspecified reporting indicating cyber criminals are planning to conduct a global Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash-out scheme in the coming days, likely associated with an unknown card issuer breach. Historic compromises have included small-to-medium size financial institutions, likely due to less robust implementation of cyber security controls, budgets, or third-party vendor vulnerabilities,” said the alert. Continue reading for another ATM jackpotting demonstration and more information.
“The criminals would compromise a bank or card processor with malware so that they gain access to bank users’ card numbers. They’d also use their access to alter ATM withdrawal limits and account balances, allowing them to withdraw as much money as each ATM possesses, according to Krebs on Security. Then, the criminals would send the card data to accomplices who would imprint the data onto reusable magnetic strip cards ‘such as gift cards purchased at retail stores,’ the FBI wrote in its alert. At a coordinated time, the accomplices would withdraw funds from ATMs around the globe using these fake cards,” reports The Verge.
