According to this article on SecurityFocus, new ATM machines can be vulnerable to the same Windows Virus’s and Trojans that are plaguing normal Windows users. The problem stems from the new machines using Windows embedded instead of the OS2 operating system the older units had.
This is not mere idle speculation, it has already happened at least once when the Nachi worm infected ATM’s at two different financial institutions. And we have this quote from the above mentioned article:
“Last year’s Slammer worm indirectly shut down some 13,000 Bank of America ATM’s by infecting database servers on the same network, and spewing so much traffic that the cash machines couldn’t processes customer transactions. ”
These Virus’s were not even designed to target ATM’s, what happens when they actually start going after these things intentionally to collect user financial data?
So, Microsoft is moving their software into places it was never designed to run, namely mission critical places like ATM’s and Naval ships. I suspect that this is just the start. Perhaps it is time to go back to keeping your cash in your mattress. It might be safer.
Franki
