Infected ATMs gave away millions of dollars
What do you need in order to withdraw cash from an ATM? First, you need to have a debit or credit card, which acts as a key to your bank account. Second, you must know the PIN code associated with the card; otherwise, the bank wouldn’t approve the transaction. Finally, you need to have some money in your account that you can withdraw. However, hackers do things differently: they don’t need cards, PIN codes or bank accounts to get money. In reality, all they need is an ATM with some cash in it and a special piece of software.
Earlier this year, at the request of a financial institution, our colleagues from the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) performed a forensic investigation into a cyber-criminal attack that targeted multiple ATMs in Eastern Europe. What they discovered was quite impressive. Imagine this: a guy comes to an ATM, enters a code on a pin pad and almost instantly gets 40 banknotes, and then does it again and again. How can this be possible? Our experts say it’s all about a trojan called Tyupkin, which infects the PC inside of an ATM and forces it to dispense banknotes when prompted by a special code.
