ATM maker warns banks of possible ‘jackpotting’ hacks

An Ohio-based ATM manufacturer is warning banks about a hacking threat that forces ATMs to dispense cash in a process called “jackpotting.”

Reuters reported Saturday that Diebold Nixdorf Inc. said on Friday that U.S. authorities had warned the company that the so-called jackpotting attacks could arrive in the U.S. after starting in Mexico last year.

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According to a confidential Secret Service memo sent to banks that was obtained by journalist Brian Krebs, hackers sometimes dressed as ATM technicians to access the vulnerable machines. The memo also states that the first attacks have already been reported in the U.S.

“During previous attacks, fraudsters dressed as ATM technicians and attached a laptop computer with a mirror image of the ATMs operating system along with a mobile device to the targeted ATM,” the Secret Service memo reads.

“This represents the first confirmed cases of losses due to logical attacks in the US. This should be treated as a call to action to take appropriate steps to protect their ATMs against these forms of attack and mitigate any consequences,” it continues.

A spokesman for Diebold Nixdorf confirmed to Reuters that its company had issued a warning, but declined to give the number of Mexican and U.S. banks affected by the hack.

An agency representative for the Secret Service declined Reuters’s request for comment on the story.