ATM hack promises teller machine jackpot
Computer security researchers are heading to Las Vegas with a software hack that gets bank teller machines to spew out cash jackpots.
Barnaby Jack of IOActive is slated to give a "Jackpotting Automated Teller Machines" presentation at the Black Hat USA security conference in Sin City in late July.
"I've always liked the scene in 'Terminator 2' where John Connor walks up to an ATM, interfaces his Atari to the card reader and retrieves cash from the machine," Jack said at the Black Hat website. "I think I've got that kid beat."
The researcher promised to bring two new model ATM machines from a pair of major vendors to demonstrate local and remote software attacks that result in large payouts.
Jack said he was originally going to reveal his findings at Black Hat in Las Vegas last year but that talk was "pulled at the last minute due to circumstances beyond my control."
"The upside to this is that there has been an additional year to research ATM attacks, and I'm armed with a whole new bag of tricks," he added.
IOActive told AFP on Friday that the manufacturers of vulnerable ATM machines have been alerted to the problem and that Jack's presentation will include ways to protect machines against attacks.
(c) 2010 AFP