SECURITY ESSEN MAGAZINE
spate of attacks in the Netherlands. A related crackdown a year earlier led to the arrest of four suspects linked to explosive attacks on a number of cash machines in Austria. As recently as late July, an overnight ATM bombing
in Furth, Germany, triggered a cross-border police chase that ended when the suspects’ car crashed in Amsterdam, forcing the evacuation of nearby homes, including a nursing home. These attacks carry risks beyond fi nancial loss. Blasts
have caused tens of millions of euros in property damage in a single year in Germany alone, and bystanders and residents near targeted branches have occasionally been put in danger from the explosions. Europe has also seen its share of software-based
jackpotting. As far back as 2016, a group known as Cobalt was linked to more than €21 million stolen from European banks
after breaching bank networks and remotely
commanding ATMs to dispense cash. Europol has continued to warn that this kind of logical, network-based attack has evolved and scaled up in the years since.
GENERAL INDUSTRY ESTIMATES PUT GLOBAL LOSSES FROM ALL ATM- RELATED FRAUD AT JUST OVER �2 BILLION PER YEAR WHICH MAY GIVE AN ILLUSTRATION OF HOW BIG A PROBLEM THIS IS
WHAT ARE BANKS DOING ABOUT IT? Regulators, including the FDIC and FFIEC, have pushed institutions to tighten controls over the IT networks and parameter-management systems that govern ATM behaviour. Common defences now include: • Whitelisting software so only authorised applications can run on ATM hardware
• Encrypting and authenticating communications between the ATM and the host system
• Physical hardening‚ reinforced top boxes, tamper alarms, and locks on service panels
• Real-time transaction monitoring to fl ag anomalous, large, or rapid-fi re withdrawals
In Germany specifi cally, banks have added ink-staining and glue-based cash-devaluation systems, seismic sensors that trigger alarms at the fi rst sign of tampering, and, in some cases, the removal of ATMs from especially high-risk locations entirely. In summary, it appears that as banks close-off remote,
network-based attack paths, criminals are increasingly falling back on physical access combined with malware‚ making the physical security of the machine itself just as important as the cybersecurity protecting it.
• 48 | BACK TO CONTENTS
BANKING ON THE EXPERTS
The European Security Systems Association (ESSA) will be holding its second Day of Banks and Saving Banks on Thursday (September 24). The event will take place in Hall 7 at 10am and will include an expert forum with an agenda focused on current threat scenarios, new protection concepts, and practical experiences from Europe-wide crime prevention initiatives. Tassja Buchheit from the State
Criminal Police Offi ce and Udo Wolf from R+V insurance will present recent cases involving attacks on safe deposit lockers and Falko Adomat of ESSA will provide an overview of ATM attacks in Europe and the United States. Philippe Piatti from the Swiss Federal Offi ce of Police will also speak about the close co-operation between law enforcement agencies, banks, and ATM operators in Switzerland, a collaboration that has helped to halve the number of ATM explosions. There will also be a segment which leading companies
in
from the security industry will present innovative solutions for risk
effi ciency through short elevator pitches.
reduction and operational
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