Some ATMs Still On XP

Cyber-criminals have been cutting holes into European cash machines in order to infect them with malware.

The holes were cut so that the hackers could plug in USB drives that installed their code onto the ATMs. Details of the attacks on an unnamed European bank’s cash dispensers were presented at the hacker-themed Chaos Computing Congress in Hamburg, Germany.

The thefts came to light in July after the lender involved noticed several its ATMs were being emptied. The bank discovered the criminals were vandalising the machines to use the infected USB sticks. Once the malware had been transferred, they patched the holes up. This allowed the same machines to be targeted several times without the hack being discovered.

The attackers could take the highest value banknotes in order to minimise the amount of time they were exposed. Interestingly the software required the thief to enter a second code in response to numbers shown on the ATM’s screen before they could release the money and the thief could only obtain the right code by phoning another gang member and telling them the numbers displayed. This stopped the criminals going alone.

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ATM Malware Found In Mexico

A malicious software program identified in ATMs in Mexico has been improved and translated into English, which suggests it may be used elsewhere, according to security vendor Symantec.

Two versions of the malware, called Ploutus, have been discovered, both of which are engineered to empty a certain type of ATM, which Symantec has not identified.

In contrast to most malware, Ploutus is installed the old-fashioned way — by inserting a CD boot disk into the innards of an ATM machine running Microsoft Windows. The installation method suggests that cybercriminals are targeting standalone ATMs where access is easier.

The first version of Ploutus displays a graphical user interface after the thief enters a numerical sequence on an ATM’s keypad, although the malware can be controlled by a keyboard, wrote Daniel Regalado, a Symantec malware analyst, on Oct. 11.

Ploutus is programmed for a specific ATM model since it assumes there is a maximum of four cassettes per dispenser in the ATM. It then calculates the amount of money that should be dispensed based on the number of bills. If any of the cassettes have less than the maximum number of 40 bills, it releases whatever is left, repeating that process until the ATM is empty.

Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response, said in an interview earlier this month that the attackers have deep knowledge of the software and hardware of the particular ATM model.

“They clearly know how this machine worked,” he said.

The source code of Ploutus “contains Spanish function names and poor English grammar that suggests the malware may have been coded by Spanish-speaking developers,” Regalado wrote.

In a new blog post, Regalado wrote that the attackers made Ploutus more robust and translated it into English, indicating the same ATM software can be exploited in countries other than Mexico.

The “B” variant of Ploutus has some differences. It only accepts commands through the keypad but will display a window showing the money available in the machine along with a transaction log as it dispenses cash. An attacker cannot enter a specific number of bills, so Ploutus withdraws money from the cassette with the most available bills, Regalado wrote.

Symantec advised those with ATMs to change the BIOS boot order to only boot from the hard disk and not CDs, DVDs or USB sticks. The BIOS should also be password protected so the boot options can’t be changed, Regalado wrote.

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Amex Debuts Mobile Payment System

American Express has just debuted a digital payment and commerce service that makes it possible to use Android-based devices and Apple iPhones for person-to-person online payments. Visa announced a similar personal payment product in the U.S. on March 16.

Analysts say the moves by Visa and American Express are clearly aimed at challenging PayPal in the personal payments business.

The new Amex service, named Serve, allows consumers and small businesses to make purchases and person-to-person payments on iOS- and Android-based devices. Serve accounts are also accessible on personal computers through Facebook and at Serve.com.

Serve also allows users to create and manage sub-accounts for friends and family members.

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