ATM: more and more attacks by malware

ATMs are not only subject to physical attacks but are increasingly the victim of a criminal cyber attacks. This derives from the new study by Trend Micro, an expert group on the security for the cloud, which emphasizes that the attacks are directed not only to steal money but also to get hold of your credit card data.

The study was conducted in collaboration with the European Centre for Cybercrime Europol (EC3). Even the Police in fact recognize that a growing number of cyber attacks that target these machines and the threat is growing.

According to the study, cybercriminals have realized that the malware is easier and safer ways to steal money and information from the cards. In addition, they were already traced the malware created specifically for ATM that are successful. The data also show an increase of 15% between 2014 and 2015 relating to cyber attacks, which makes us understand how organized criminal groups are equipped with advanced toolset hacking. In the first half of 2015, the stolen goods amounted to about 150 million euro.

The European ATM Security Team has confirmed that "international losses were recorded in 10 countries inside the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) and 53 outside it. Globally, the most affected countries were the USA, Indonesia and the Philippines. "

According to Trend Micro, one of the main factors is the use of outdated operating systems such as Windows XP, which no longer receives security patches. Another reason can be found in the increasing sophistication of criminals and in the awareness that the digital methods involve less risk. Not underestimate even the decision of the producers to use the ATM middleware APIs that allow you to communicate with peripheral devices such as PIN pads and others.