ATMs hit by new malware

Electronic ticket machines and ATMs could be forced to deal with more hacks as a result of cyber criminals looking to exploit poorly defended systems.

European hackers have created malware known as ‘Daredevil’, designed to take advantage of kiosks and electronic ticket machines found in locations such as train stations.

The cyber criminals also pose a threat to ATM machines belonging to European banks, as they are utilising a close-to-invisible device that is able to listen in on cash transactions being made by customers.

In a blog post written on 26th November, the firm said that the malware is among a growing number of POS variants currently being developed by underground hackers due to previous successful attacks. Victims of these attacks include retail giants such as Home Depot and Target.

The firm wrote in the blog post:

“Such devices will become the new target for cyber criminals. These kiosks and ticket machines don’t usually house large daily lots of money like ATMs, but many have insecure methods of remote administration allowing for infectious payloads and the exfiltration of payment data in an ongoing and undetected scheme.”

Hackers are looking for holes to exploit all of the time, and businesses need to be constantly on their guard in this day and age to defend themselves against any potential attacks. The corporate opposite of a hacker is a cyber security professional, and companies need to be filling cyber security jobs with personnel capable of defending company systems and data.