The Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) of the United States has issued a fresh alert which says Bank ATMs in the UK can be hacked any time soon. The confidential alert says that some high profile cyber crooks, probably backed by some state-funded hackers are plotting a concerted global malware attack on free cash vending machines operating in and around the UK in the next few days.
FBI says that the attack can be fully orchestrated fraud scheme known as an ATM Jackpotting where hackers intercept a bank payment processor and use cloned cards at free cash vending machines operating around the world to withdraw money.
The law enforcement agency of America says that the attack on ATMs can take place on a global. But on an initial note, the attackers can attack machines which are operating only in the UK.
As the swiping takes place with cloned cards in just a few minutes, FBI says that the loss will be irrecoverable.
Some of the large UK based banks such as HSBC and Barclays have been alerted on this note by FBI.
Readers of Cybersecurity Insiders have to make a note of the fact that cash vending machines around Britain are closing at a rate of 280 per month and mostly the rural communities are worst hit by this activity.
Currently, over 70K ATMs are operating in the UK dispensing over £ 128 billion on a yearly note. And out of the 97% were free to use machines till June this year.
But now each user has to pay a premium to banks in order to gain the said services on a further note which is proving as a burden on the common man.
Since the government of UK has decided to implement only cashless (Digital) transactions around the country by this year-end, it is discouraging the public from using cash vending machines from last 4 months by closing ATMs in an incremental manner.
Its said that the government has also taken the decision to close ATMs on a large scale due to other economic reasons which can emerge after Brexit.
Maybe due to these reasons, the UK government is seen encouraging contact-less and mobile payments on a larger scale in the UK since 2017.
Thus, if at all, FBI’s alert turns into a reality, then hackers will have to fasten their attack skills before ATMs become extinct across the United Kingdom.
