ATM vendors warn: ‘Jackpotting’ Attacks Hit U.S. ATMs

The hacking mechanism, called “jackpotting”, has been growing all over the world in recent years, but it is hard to pinpoint the exact amount of money lost as victims and police are often unwilling to disclose details.

ATM “jackpotting” — a sophisticated crime in which thieves install malicious software and/or hardware at ATMs that forces the machines to spit out huge volumes of cash on demand — has long been a threat for banks in Europe and Asia, yet these attacks somehow have eluded U.S. ATM operators.

Kreb on Security, the security website, covered the attacks earlier on Saturday and said the incidents had begun last year.

NCR warned on Friday that the cases were the first jackpotting thefts confirmed in the United States. But the company’s equipment has not been a recent target, but they are still concerned about the ATM industry as a whole.

Diebold Nixdorf also said in an independent statement released on Friday that the U.S. government has warned the company that hackers were targeting one of their ATMs, called Opteva, but the device was discontinued a few years ago.

In a confidential warning sent to banks, the U.S. Secret Service said hackers usually target independent ATMs in pharmacies and supermarkets. But officials from the United States Secret Service declined to comment, and officials of the FBI have not yet responded.

Reference: krebsonsecurity