Cybercriminals hack into Bank ATMs in Eastern Europe

Cybercriminals are improving day by day in terms of technology they use to counterfeit security of Bank systems. Recently, a new malicious software program, that can be installed on ATMs running Windows XP operating system that records sensitive card details, have been found by security vendor Trustwave.

The malware activity has been found on ATMs in Eastern European countries, and is likely to expand over to western europe aswell.

How it works? Step by Step
1. The malware records the magnetic stripe information on the back of a card as well as the PIN (Personal Identification Number), which would potentially allow criminals to clone the card in order to withdraw cash.

2. The collected card data, which is encrypted using the DES (Data Encryption Standard) algorithm, can be printed out by the ATM’s receipt printer.

3. The malware is controlled via a GUI that is displayed when a so-called “trigger card” is inserted into the machine by a criminal. The trigger card causes a small window to appear that gives its controller 10 seconds to pick one of 10 command options using the ATM’s keypad.

4. The criminal can then view the number of transactions, print card data, reboot the machine and even uninstall the malware. Another menu option appears to allow the ejection of an ATM’s cash cassette.

The malware contains advanced management functionality allowing the attacker to fully control the compromised ATM through a customized user interface built into the malware

Trustwave has collected multiple versions of the malware. The company believes that the particular one it analyzed is “a relatively early version of the malware and that subsequent versions have seen significant additions to its functionality.”

Precautions
The only precaution that banks can take at this moment is to properly seal ATMs so that there are no chances of eavesdropping. Also, existing ATMs should be scanned to see if they’re infected.

I’m sorry to say this but , as a end-user, there is a little you can do to know that ATM is infected.

– Look for Physical vulnerabilities of ATM

– Check if ATM machine is properly closed.

Banks, we need your support more than ever!