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Hacker forces ATMs to give him cash
29 July 2010
Vulnerabilities in IT security have once again been exposed - this time by a man who spent two years playing about with cash machines bought off the internet.
Barnaby Jack managed to hijack the computers inside the standalone version of the machines, which tend to be found outside supermarkets and shops rather than at bank branches. He eventually worked out how to force the dispensers to give him money.
Mr Jack put the results of his efforts on display at the Black Hat conference in the US, a yearly event which exposes how vulnerable computers are to hacking.
The cash machines cracked open by Mr Jack use software and security measures which are used across the banking industry. His results have huge implications because the methods he used can work on different types of cash machines.
He was supposed to speak about his achievements a year ago but the talk was postponed because the banking industry said it would not be able to fix the glitches in time for him to reveal the details. He demonstrated to the audience two separate methods of forcing the machines to spit out cash.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Category: Latest Industry News