Outdated software makes ATMs exposed to hackers

CEBU, Philippines - Outdated and insecure software and lack of physical security are the banes of securing ATM machines, this according to a recent study.

Kaspersky Lab experts discovered why it’s so easy to make an ATM to obey hacker commands, thereby affecting millions of depositors around the world, and even in the Philippines.

"Almost any ATM in the world could be illegally accessed and jackpotted with or without the help of malware. This is because of the widespread use of outdated and insecure software, mistakes in network configuration and a lack of physical security for critical parts of the ATM, revealed the newly released research conducted by Kaspersky Lab experts.

For many years, the biggest threat to the customers and owners of ATMs were skimmers – special devices attached to an ATM in order to steal data from bank card magstripes. But as malicious techniques have evolved, ATMs have been exposed to more danger.

In 2014, Kaspersky Lab researchers discovered Tyupkin – one of the first widely known examples of malware for ATMs, and in 2015 company experts uncovered the Carbanak gang, which, among other things was capable of jackpotting ATMs through compromise banking infrastructure.

Kaspersky warned that both examples of attack were possible due to the exploitation of several common weaknesses in ATM technology, and in the infrastructure that supports them, adding that "this is only the tip of the iceberg."

All ATMs are PCs running on very old versions of operation systems such as  Windows XP. This makes them vulnerable to infection with PC malware and attack via exploits, the study revealed,

In the vast majority of cases, the special software that allows the ATM’s PC to interact with banking infrastructure and hardware units, processing cash and credit cards, is based on XFS standard.

This a rather old and insecure technology specification, originally created in order to standardize ATM software, so that it can work on any equipment regardless of manufacturer.

The problem is that XFS specification requires no authorization for the commands it processes, meaning that any app installed or launched on the ATM can issue commands to any other ATM hardware units, including the card reader and cash dispenser.

Should malware successfully infect an ATM, it receives almost unlimited capabilities in terms of control over that ATM: it can turn the PIN pad and card reader into a “native” skimmer or just give away all the money stored in the ATM, upon a command from its hacker.

In many cases observed by Kaspersky Lab researchers, criminals don’t have to use malware to infect the ATM or the network of the bank it’s attached to. That is possible because of the lack of physical security for the ATMs themselves — a very common issue for these devices.  (FREEMAN)