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By LTC Steven Howard, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Contributor, InCyberDefense
Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are warning banks around the world that hackers are about to target ATM machines in a massive cyber attack. The hackers intend to steal millions of dollars in after-hours bank cyber attacks this weekend.
According to cybersecurity expert Theresa Payton, “The FBI does not put warnings out like this. Oftentimes by alerting the public, if they are working on a case, they are tipping their hand to the bad guys and it will disrupt an investigation…..When the FBI makes these decisions to make a public statement about this type of an issue and does it in an unclassified manner, everyone needs to take heed.”
FBI Advising Banks to Increase Security and Review ATM Security Protocols
The FBI has advised banks to increase security measures in the near term and review internal ATM security protocols. Previous attacks of this nature have typically occurred on a weekend, often immediately after a bank has closed on a Friday afternoon.
Known as an “ATM cashout” operation by cyber professionals, the attack involves cloned cards in conjunction with a hack on a bank in order to withdraw funds.