ATMs may seem like they're going the way of dinosaurs these days as we use less and less cash for payments and embrace cybercurrencies and electronic payment services such as PayPal and Venmo. However, the Secret Service recently issued a warning to financial institutions about the cyberattack called jackpotting, which involves that old T-Rex machine.
This type of crime occurs when malicious software or hardware of some type, such as a card scanner, is used on the ATMs that cause them to issue large amounts of cash whenever the thief demands. According to the Secret Service, the criminals found vulnerabilities in machines that are in big-box retailers, stand alone, or that are of the drive-through variety.
On top of this, the Secret Service claims to know of planned attempts to commit jackpotting in the U.S. and is advising financial institutions to be on alert.
The average consumer need not worry because the funds are removed from the ATM and not attached to an account. The biggest concern is that an ATM won’t have any cash in it perhaps when said customer needs it.
Thus far there have not been any reports of individuals being victims of this, but a Secret Service memo dated in January claims that at least six attacks already have been discovered in essentially all areas of the country.
To thwart these attacks, which have paid the criminals an estimated $1 million according to CNN, the ATM owners should ensure their machines are upgraded. Many are still running on Microsoft Windows XP, which make them particularly vulnerable since that operating system is no longer supported. Increasing physical security around the machines is also a recommendation, particularly on the stand-alone machines. This is because the thieves must physically access them to commit a jackpotting attack.
Shockingly, the first instance of jackpotting happened in 2010 and was not performed by a cybercriminal. It was done by the infamous New Zealander and “white hat” hacker, Barnaby Jack to raise awareness about jackpotting.
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