Hackers Targeting Windows XP-Based ATM Machines

We're not going to start hiding our millions under our mattress (that's right, all bloggers roll in obscene amounts of money and own private jets), but the next time we withdraw a wad of cash, it might be a good idea to skip the ATM and flirt with a real live teller instead. That's because about 20 ATMs, mostly in Eastern Europe, have recently been hacked and are thought to be a testing ground before spreading to other ATMs, including those in the U.S.

"Trustwave's SpiderLabs performed the analysis of malware found installed on compromised ATMs in the Eastern European region," TrustWare said. "This malware captures magnetic stripe data and PIN codes from the private memory space of transaction-processing applications installed on a compromised ATM."

According to the report, the compromised ATMs all ran Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The malware is installed and activated through a dropper file and once compromised, hackers then have full control over the machine via a customized user interface and accessible by inserting a special controller card into the ATM.

"This malware is unlike any we have ever had experiece with," TrustWare added.

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