Text Message Controlled ATM Malware Spews Cash Help Net Security
go to original March 25, 2014

Symantec researchers recorded this helpful video that shows each of these steps (Symantec/)

Microsoft has been aggressively campaigning to get users to stop using Windows XP, and has gone so far as to offer $100 off the purchase of a new PC via the Microsoft Store in order to sweeten the switch to a newer OS (preferably Windows 8).

But there is a massive number of devices that won't be so easily upgraded, as 95 percent of ATMs is running on the soon-to-be outdated and unsupported Windows XP.

Infection with a variant of the Ploutus ATM malware will likely be the most imminent danger for ATMs. First spotted being used in Mexico last year, the malware became modular, and new variants using the English language indicate that the next target are ATMs in English-speaking countries, likely the US.

While Ploutus initially required attackers to use an external keyboard to order the ATM to spew out money, with the newer variants in play they need to send an SMS to the compromised ATM, then simply go and collect the dispensed cash.

Read the rest at Help Net Security

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