Barnaby Jack, director of security testing at the computer security company IOActive, demonstrates how to hack an ATM to make it dispense money
In need of extra cash? Who isn't, right? If you're a smart hacker, you may be able to make a small fortune by simply tricking an ATM or two into spitting out money for you. We know that sounds crazy, and it certainly is, but it's true nonetheless. At the annual Black Hat conference -- where hackers and security experts gather to make public certain loopholes in order to encourage companies to fix them -- Barnaby Jack was able to demonstrate how he could trick an ATM into spitting out all of its cash, and more.
The hacker spent two full years perfecting the ruse, which applied to the ATMs found often in front of convenience stores. The goal was to find a way to take control of the ATM by "exploiting weaknesses in the computers that run the machines," but unlike malicious hackers, his goal was to make this information public so that companies making them would take notice and close up these holes for thieves to exploit.
