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Diebold ATMs hit by Nachi Worm

red floyd writes "The Register is reporting confirmation that Diebold ATMs were hit by the Nachi worm back in August. Apparently some Diebold ATMs run XP Embedded, and got hit with a variant of the RPC DCOM worm. Seems that they hadn't yet applied the available patch."

99 of 414 comments (clear)

  1. Diebold spins it. by grub · · Score: 5, Insightful


    A patch for the critical RPC DCOM hole had been available from Microsoft for over a month at the time of the attack, but Diebold had neglected to install it in the infected machines.

    Nice spin, Diebold. I highly doubt these were the only unpatched machines. It's likely more accurate to say "these unpatched machines, of which there are many more, weren't well protected on their respective VPNs". Think about it: the infection had to come from somewhere, right? Other unpatched machines are probably much better protected on their respective private networks.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Diebold spins it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I watched guy patch an ATM once.

      It was done from a laptop.

      My guess is that an infected laptop managed to screw things up (but no-one would admit to that). If it were because of a network connection, it would have been an 'all or nothing' infection and would've spread like wildfire. I'm not sure how exactly ATMs are connected, but they have to be networked in the grander scale of things for the system to work properly.

      Anyways, my bet is an unsecure laptop - that's how most RPC hole attacks I've seen have spread recently. Having said that, we'll see lots of posts of an anti-MS nature in response to this story, when in actual fact, it's down to user bad practise, patch deployment and the fact that some people get a kick out of writing this stuff in the first place...

    2. Re:Diebold spins it. by T3kno · · Score: 2

      And please don't forget lousy programming, design and engineering on the part of M$. Not to mention the complete dain bramage on the part of the management schmuck at Deibold who decided that XP embedded was a suitable choice for an ATM, even if they didn't build the ATMs themselves.

      --
      (B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
    3. Re:Diebold spins it. by garrulous · · Score: 3, Informative

      I believe they generally are connected via STUN to a front end processor, newer models are using data link switching without the FEP so they are likely to have greater vulnerability to bug in a box schemes.

    4. Re:Diebold spins it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In all honesty I'd say that Embedded XP is a pretty awful choice, you want something you can fit and forget. While it's nice to poke fun at M$ every once in a while, it gets boring, and someday the Schandenfreude is gonna backfire.

      Heh! Although the picture of having a bunch of guys driving all over every Wednesday to patch a truckload of ATMs is kinda amusing...

      Thinking about it that way, it'd be all to easy for them to not admit they made the wrong software choice, or to neglect patching altogether until something went wrong. As far as choice of XP goes: you have to look at why they chose it - range of development tools, range of platforms that it runs on, etc. etc. security probably wasn't (stupidly) high on their list.

    5. Re:Diebold spins it. by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's just as likely to be a scrap of code inloaded off the back of a credit card. Why in Gods name would anyone use a proven insecure operating system as the base for a series of teller machines? Are ATMs so complex that you need a whole operating system running on the damn things? I seriously doubt it.

      The answer to this is to make a simple, purpose built program, which is INCAPABLE of running externally introduced code. You need to patch? Run the software off a CD/DVD, and when you need to change the code, change the CD. Nothing to get cracked, nothign to get corrupted, nothing but hardwired code. Burn an extended BIOS on a rom chip to run the physical end. Then lock the whole thing up in a metal box, and BAM its as secure as you can make it.

      Diebold should go back to making safes and padlocks, because they sure as hell don't know crap about ATMs and Voting Machines.

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    6. Re:Diebold spins it. by lynx_user_abroad · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The answer to this is to make a simple, purpose built program, which is INCAPABLE of running externally introduced code.

      You are mistaken if you believe a machine can be made secure by making the disk read-only.

      Any machine where the code space is shared with the data space can be compromised, if the system can be induced to execute arbitrary (possibly memory-resident-only) data.

      Even a system where the behavior (code) is hard-wired can be compromised if all the possible permutations of the behavior are not completely understood. There are always unforseen circumstances under which perfectly correct behavior can produce unintended consequences.

      Why in Gods name would anyone use a proven insecure operating system as the base for a series of teller machines?

      Then again, there's a difference between not provably perfect and downright incompetent.

      --

      The thing about things we don't know is we often don't know we don't know them.

    7. Re:Diebold spins it. by pmz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why in Gods name would anyone use a proven insecure operating system as the base for a series of teller machines?

      Because their executives are idiots and their engineers are sheep.

    8. Re:Diebold spins it. by Uma+Thurman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Schandenfreude

      Stop it with the intellectual bukkake.

      --
      This is America, damnit. Speak Spanish!
    9. Re:Diebold spins it. by yomahz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The answer to this is to make a simple, purpose built program, which is INCAPABLE of running externally introduced code. You need to patch? Run the software off a CD/DVD, and when you need to change the code, change the CD. Nothing to get cracked, nothign to get corrupted, nothing but hardwired code. Burn an extended BIOS on a rom chip to run the physical end. Then lock the whole thing up in a metal box, and BAM its as secure as you can make it.

      Just a thought... how hard would it be to make an operating system that only executed signed code?

      --
      "A mind is a terrible thing to taste."
    10. Re:Diebold spins it. by austad · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Most Diebold ATM's run OS/2. But there's a push from some banks for them to install windows on them, even though the banks don't manage them. I used to work for a company that had ATM's with Diebold, and the engineer I talked to was unhappy that they were putting windows on them, but it's customer demand. It's simply some jackass that works for a bank and thinking they should run windows, when he has no idea how an ATM even works.

      As far as VPN's go, for the most part, the ATM's either dial up, or are connected to a LAN that has some sort of WAN connection back to its respective bank. I don't know of any that use VPN's, although it is entirely possible. Keep in mind that Diebold simply provides the machines and fixes them when they break, it's up to the bank or whoever to provide the connectivity and other supporting servers/equipment.

      --
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    11. Re:Diebold spins it. by fenix+down · · Score: 2, Funny

      If this word actually existed in the German language, it would mean "joy of shame"...

      I refuse to believe that Germany doesn't have a word for that.

    12. Re:Diebold spins it. by nathanh · · Score: 2, Informative
      Just a thought... how hard would it be to make an operating system that only executed signed code?

      Trivial. You could modify the Linux ELF loader to do this right now.

      The problem is in proving that the signed code is not flawed. For example, the Xbox was compromised despite only executing signed code because Goldeneye had an overflow bug. Also you might remember the ActiveX signing was ridiculed when somebody managed to get Microsoft's signature on a program that simply rebooted your machine.

      And there are always bugs in the design of the program, not just the implementation. For example, any program that has a scripting language with RW access to data is a potential security hole. Or something more stupid like an e-mail client that trusted any attachments it received. The e-mail program might be signed but if the payload is dangerous (and isn't an executable) then you are still screwed.

      Also you need to prove that the OS itself does not have any vulnerabilities.

      It's not so simple as "we're secure because we only execute signed code".

  2. False sense of security still in effect by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Insightful

    From the article:
    "The actual point of service terminal itself getting infected-- that's pretty crazy," said [Windows expert Marc] Maiffret. "But worms are always going to be able to infect a lot more interesting machines than individual intruders are." Moreover, before reaching an ATM network, a human attacker would likely encounter more alluring high-finance targets along the way. "They're going to have to go through a lot of juicer networks first."

    Oh, yeah, that's crazy. As I recall, we discussed this very issue in a previous Slashdot story, and all the experts told us mere geeks that we were ignorant and stupid to even worry about it. Some of the most choice comments came in reply to my own post on the subject.

    Now, even *after* a worm has found its way into an ATM, the "Windows Experts" say there's *still* nothing to worry about.

    Well, ok... I'm not going to worry about my own personal finances, because I'll just ask the bank to reverse any bogus transactions. But if/when some savvy hacker does figure out how to infiltrate an ATM and walks away with a few hundred bucks, someone's going to come up short on their books at the end of the day...

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
    1. Re:False sense of security still in effect by Angstroem · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I still don't see any reason why a ATM machine must run a bloated operating system. That thing needs:

      (1) A display driver; any text console is sufficient, but if the banks prefer to show logos and useless graphics, fine, make it a simple framebuffer device.

      (2) A rudimentary keyboard controller; any 4x4 matrix will easily do the job. Make it 8x8 and you have more keys you'll ever need.

      (3) Some additional hardware controls to perform currency selection and output, and receipt printing.

      (4) A network driver to hook the ATM machine into the banking network plus the relevant service applications including mandatory security services. Shouldn't be much different from setting up credit card terminals, BTDT.

      So why does anyone need anything like a striped down consumer OS, no matter if it is Windows Embedded or some embedded Linux for that?

      But if I decide to use it, then I better hurry and apply any goddamn bugfix meant to close wide-open security holes. Plus, I keep my networks strictly separated and eventual gateway points heavily firewalled. How could Nachi enter the money transfer network anyway?

      Somebody obviously did not make their homework, both on ATM and network infrastructure design.

    2. Re:False sense of security still in effect by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 2, Informative

      Now, even *after* a worm has found its way into an ATM, the "Windows Experts" say there's *still* nothing to worry about.

      Where do you get that? The only people arguing that this is ok is Diebold. And we already knew they were unethical. What Windows Expert is saying there's nothing to worry about in regards to this story?

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    3. Re:False sense of security still in effect by jrumney · · Score: 4, Informative
      So why does anyone need anything like a striped down consumer OS, no matter if it is Windows Embedded or some embedded Linux for that?

      Because it is a lot easier to develop the software if it can be debugged on the developer's PC. Most embedded OS's have been based on POSIX or stripped down Win32 APIs for years now (QNX and Paradigm being two examples I've personally used over 5 years ago).

    4. Re:False sense of security still in effect by Ciderx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The problem here is you actually believe that the security of an ATM is that skin deep. Well, let me just say I'd trust Microsoft more about security than someone whose idea of security is "if they manage to do something to the ATM, then that's it, we all may as well go home".

      The level of infiltration here is nothing. Its vastly less penetration than, say, someone who finds your lost card and tries it in a machine. At least then, they have bypassed one level of account security. A virus like this bypasses zero levels of account security.

      But, hey, don't let me stop your mindless Microsoft bashing...

    5. Re:False sense of security still in effect by alfredw · · Score: 4, Informative

      A number of ATMs also run a stripped-down version of OS/2. Thank god. Unfortunately, Microsoft is pushing vendors to move to Windows as IBM is soon to discontinue OS/2 support.

      --
      In Soviet Russia, sig types you!
    6. Re:False sense of security still in effect by brianosaurus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ATMs run bloated operating systems for the same reasons that certain web browsers can read email. Because it's possible. ;)

      At some point someone thought it would be really cool to have ATMs with 10" color screens and speakers, so it can show commercials while you wait for your mugger.

      They also seem to be moving away from the keypad. I had the unfortunate experience of using a touch-screen ATM the other day. The touchscreen was horribly calibrated (probably due to the thickness of the glass, and it was probably calibrated by someone kneeling in front of it, instead of standing up). I had to poke aroud each button for a while, then eventually gave up and used the keypad below when i could).

      Its probably also driven by companies like Diebold who want to keep selling the latest and greatest machines to the banks. And since usability and security are not driving new sales, they boxes have to look "cooler" to sell.

      --
      blog
    7. Re:False sense of security still in effect by RealProgrammer · · Score: 5, Insightful
      A virus like this bypasses zero levels of account security.

      What color is the sky in your world?

      This worm was caught because it wasn't expecting to be on an ATM. It thought it was on just another XP box on some network and started scanning. Suppose the next worm is patient, stealthily looking for ATMs?

      Malignant code could potentially monitor any device I/O it wanted. How about grabbing the bits on your ATM card swipe and saving them in an arrary with the PIN you just typed? No need to decipher anything, just send a day's worth in a batch and self-destruct.

      The attacker can then recreate your ATM card from the bits on the stripe.

      You're right, we're still safe.

      --
      sigs, as if you care.
    8. Re:False sense of security still in effect by brianosaurus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Do you KNOW otherwise? Have you read about Diebold's voting machines? The ones that store stuff in MS Access databases without even password protection? Have you seen the inner workings of the ATMs to know that they have further security?

      Part of the issue is that if a random worm can get into the ATM, a worm carrying dangerous payload (like one that installs a driver to capture keypresses and data being printed to receipts) could also find its way in.

      The other part is that we really don't know what goes on inside an ATM. We know we enter a PIN, and money comes out the little slot, but really its a black box. We don't know that there are many levels of security. We don't know if our accounts are safe, even if the underlying operating system is compromised.

      We do know that some new ATMs which run on Windows XP were compromised. So what will Diebold and Microsoft and our banks do to convince us that everything is still OK?

      --
      blog
    9. Re:False sense of security still in effect by Jaysyn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      ATMs aren't mission critical, like a respirator or guidance system in a plane. I.E. you aren't going to be able to sue a bank if their ATM network goes down. (Not that I agree on using Win-anything on a kiosk type device)

      Jaysyn

      --
      There is a war going on for your mind.
    10. Re:False sense of security still in effect by RevAaron · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There is no reason MS could give you a checkbox that allowed RPC requests to be made within the machine itself, but not accepting them from the outside world. Hell, it may be possible already- and easy enough to enable- with some Windows firewalls.

      Can't always blame MS- blocking external RPC calls is something that can and should be done in a firewall. Granted, MS should ship a firewall with their OSes that does it...

      --

      Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
    11. Re:False sense of security still in effect by Krach42 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I shouldn't have to run a firewall just to make my computer secure.

      I should be able to decide on what services I want to export to the world, and have them all OFF by default. Then, when I find I need something, the OS interface should prompt me that it's disabled, and that to enable it, I'll have to turn on XYZ service, and what that service provides, and exposes me to.

      --

      I am unamerican, and proud of it!
  3. Ain't karma a bitch? by i_want_you_to_throw_ · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The same Diebold that has grossly insecure voting machines? The same Diebold that is abusing copyright claims and is being sued by EFF and students.

    Well ain't karma a bitch Diebold?

    What I am concerned about is whether or not my bank that I use uses Embedded XP for their ATMs. If so then I might have to consider switching banks. Not just because of this but because MS based systems are so notoriously insecure. Yeah yeah mod me down if you must but I'd feel much better having embedded Linux (or some other proven secure system) watching my money thank you.

    FYI if you're using Union Federal you might want to start looking around now,... hehe

    1. Re:Ain't karma a bitch? by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 2, Funny

      why not OS/2 Embedded? I think that'll fall under the, "Secure-because-no-one-uses-it" model.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    2. Re:Ain't karma a bitch? by bmckeever · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah yeah mod me down if you must but I'd feel much better having embedded Linux...

      Have you forgotten where you posted this? Nobody gets modded down for picking Linux over MS.

      --
      Your favorite .sig sucks
    3. Re:Ain't karma a bitch? by TyrranzzX · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Screw linux. I'd rather see the banking companies running something obscure and reliable like a unix variant or some custom software. If I were a bank director I'd invest considerable capital in a decent secure standards based banking system or I'd consider unix before I'd consider linux or windows. My guess is that the banks wanted to implement the systems and new features faster than they cared about customers security which is, from my understanding, not a big deal.

      I guess their system works a lot like las vegases in the sense that if someone steals a million bucks from a casino it leaves a paper trail. They then sick the bounty hunters on you; this system is effective. I remember awhile back someone stole 7 million from a casino in las vegas and 3 days later the car was found by the cops, still running, in the wrong direction facing las vegas.

      Any hacker with sufficient knowledge of these systems isn't going to try to crash them because they will quickly realize that by destroying these systems they're screwing over and creating millions of desperate people, both people who can't access their accounts and companies who can't put out paychecks on time.

      But, the main reason I'm guessing they chose windows was for the features. Windows has lots of features and useless crap and when you hire someone to fix the system you don't have to train them as much. Plus, you get good support from microsoft and nice salesman to walk off the cliff with you.

      I'd feel a bit better if their security was better. When your bank doesn't give a shit if you loose a few hundred dollers, or next months rent, to a hack I think most people have a problem with that and they aren't going to be calling anyone accept the cops to try to catch the person who did it, especially if they continueously do it.

  4. Just goes to show.. by iantri · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I think this just goes to show that consumer operating systems are a bad idea to put on important machines that need to be reliable.

    I'd think QNX or something else very simple and reliable would be a much better choice to rnu on ATM machines..

    1. Re:Just goes to show.. by iii_rjm · · Score: 2, Informative

      Back in the day QNX had a strong presence on ATM machines.

    2. Re:Just goes to show.. by psyconaut · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ahhh....but if you used a proper embedded operating system for an embedded device, you wouldn't be able to hire programmers who have completed a 6-week Visial Basic/.NET programming course at their local community college to write your business critical applications ;-)

      -psy

  5. And this company... by j0keralpha · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wants us to trust them to run our electorate system? Lets face it, this was a VERY easily preventable oversight. These machines should have survived without patching by installing a rudimentary port blocker of some form. There is no reason RPC should be exposed by an ATM. If they are leaving ATMs wide open, i dont know how we're supposed to expect their Voting Machines to work.

    1. Re:And this company... by Slime-dogg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I wonder why they even bother using TCP/IP at all. It would make sense to have some kind of proprietary protocol in this matter, since we don't want to have all the security issues that are present on the net present in the ATM machine.

      ATM machines shouldn't be connected to the internet, which means TCP/IP is optional. This would be security through obscurity at it's finest. Eliminate ports altogether.

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
  6. Diebold with the voting machines by ACK!! · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The CEO said that he would do whatever he can to deliver Ohio or some place to Bush.

    The same people that build machines with no paper trail for vote auditing.

    They also do not patch their ATMs.

    This really gives me confidence for the upcoming elections.

    --
    ACK /ak/ interj. 2. [from the comic strip "Bloom County"] An exclamation of surprised disgust, esp. i
    1. Re:Diebold with the voting machines by Sabalon · · Score: 2, Funny

      This really gives me confidence for the upcoming elections.

      Possible Winners:
      1) RPC DCOM
      2) General Protection
      3) MafiaBoy

  7. Security through obscurity after all? by Alcimedes · · Score: 2, Insightful

    i know everyone always says this is a terrible mindset, but considering how many OS/2 ATM's have been hammered, there might be something to this after all.

    think about the work you'd have to go through to get your hands on OS/2 code to figure out where holes might be.

    then you have to write your own virus. it'll only be aimed specifically at ATM's etc.

    just seems like there's a lot more legwork involved in hitting obscure OS'es.

    instead, if they run XP, someone else grabs the code and distributes it. then another person writes a hack and distributes/releases that.

    the end person in this case just needs to take baby steps off of the great strides of others to get a virus that can hit an ATM. sure obscurity shouldn't be a sole security measure, but it seems it would be relatively effective to me.

  8. They need a new BIOS by RealProgrammer · · Score: 4, Funny

    A new, secure, manageable BIOSwould fix their problem.

    It's really Phoenix's fault.

    --
    sigs, as if you care.
  9. Uh-huh... by tekiegreg · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And you want their equipment deciding votes, dear got if you can get a worm on the holy of holies, a cash dispensing machine. I seriously doubt that the next holy machine, a voting machine should be running Diebold systems.

    Seriously people, embedded proprietary operating software (neither XP or Unix or anything widely made public) is the best way to go with these sacred machines. Worms will have a difficult (tho dare I say impossible) time working their way in. So the problems will hopefully be minimal.

    In short I'm afraid, I'm very afraid

    --
    ...in bed
  10. Someone's going to come up short... by abb3w · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The customers at large will; it will most likely be reflected in higher account/ATM fees. Banks will likely pass on the cost of theft just like merchants do the cost of shoplifting. Which sucks for the honest folk out there... all seventy-two of them.

    --
    //Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
    1. Re:Someone's going to come up short... by DickBreath · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The customers at large will; it will most likely be reflected in higher account/ATM fees. Banks will likely pass on the cost of theft just like merchants do the cost of shoplifting.

      Yet another cost to society for the widespread use of Microsoft software.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  11. Why are ATMs unprotected on the Internet anyway? by Ryu2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm amazed that those ATMs were connected to the Internet, without apparently even a firewall to block all but necessary ports.

    --
    There's 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
  12. Diebold ATM (in)Security by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    My company provides vulnerability assessment and penetration testing services to financial services clients and we crack these things all the time.

    The old ones run OS/2 v3.0 and a vulnerable version of sendmail, the slightly newer ones run Windows NT 4.0, with almost no patches installed and a default username and password.

    Once you gain access, it is possible to directly control the hardware using the utilities already on the system, including dumping the cash drawer :) The latest ones run either Windows 2000 or Windows XP, and have almost the same software as the Windows NT systems, just with more vulnerabilities.

    At this point Diebold has not patched ANY of the RPC vulnerabilities, let alone the Messenger or Workstation bugs. Each of these ATM's is connected to an ethernet segment somewhere waiting for someone to rob it.

    During the Blaster peak, a friend of mine was talking about the XP ATM's in London constantly rebooting... They put these cmd-shell-waiting-to-happen boxes directly on the Internet. Thank god for companies like Diebold and Microsoft, their problems created a market and a community that is still picking up steam.

    1. Re:Diebold ATM (in)Security by alfredw · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oooh... My Machiavellian little mind can't help but suggest:

      1. Root a Diebold corporate server. Access their customer's VPNs for ATMs. If they don't patch their cash machines, you can bet their file-sharing is equally vulnerable.
      2. Insert a worm into the ATMs.
      3. Worm executes simultaneously worldwide. Diebold machines all dump their cash simultaneously.
      4. Worm displays a message on the screen: This hack made possible by vulnerability X that MS patched on Y but Diebold didn't bother to apply. Think this is bad? They make VOTING machines too!
      5. Sit back and watch as multinational banks sue Diebold into oblivion.

      If government is too corrupt to fix the voting machine problem, then perhaps it is better to make it in the interest of someone very rich.

      Disclaimer: If you actually do this shit, you've probably committed a "crime" in the legalistic sense... though ethically and morally you're definitely doing OK.

      --
      In Soviet Russia, sig types you!
  13. Ripe for Conspiracy Theory aka 1,2, Profit.. by freerangegeek · · Score: 2, Funny

    1) Diebold produces ATMs with security holes to skim money
    2) Diebold uses skimmed money to lobby for their electronic voting machines
    3) Diebold uses code in voting machines to fix elections
    4) Government by Diebold, Taxation by Diebold
    5) PROFIT!

  14. Funny banner ad to go with this article by gd23ka · · Score: 3, Funny

    Funny that this banner ad was on the page when I loaded this article... It read: Making the right decision may save you millions... Making the wrong decision may cost your job

  15. It's rediculous. by Short+Circuit · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Every company makes mistakes. Running Windows XP is a mistake a lot of companies and people make.

    The reason this is Slashdotworthy is that it is the same Diebold. The people who submit stories are hostile towards Diebold, and it's only to be expected that some of those hostile stories would make it through.

    I'm sure a lot more vital-service machines than just those built by Diebold were hit. A story on the range of systems, maybe with ATMs as a highlight, would have been more appropriate.

    Not ranting at you, just wasting karma, that's all.

  16. RPC vulnerability by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am not a Windows Expert, but why is RPC important in an ATM? Is this something in embedded XP that should be disabled for certain applications like ATMs? If RPC should have been turned off then it's also the fault of Diebold not to configure the machines properly and MS for leaving it enabled by default.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:RPC vulnerability by kobaz · · Score: 5, Informative

      I am no windows expert here. But I tried disabeling as many services as possible for a win2k server i built for someone. When I disabled RPC and rebooted, the machine no longer functioned. Apartently RPC is a critical service that needs to be running in order for windows to function properly.

      I had to boot up in safe mode and do some registry hacking to get RPC back up and running, because everything from windows explorer to control panel, to msie would fail to load. After managed to turn RPC back on, the machine worked "perfectly". As perfect as a windows machine can operate, hah.

      --

      The goal of computer science is to build something that will last at least until we've finished building it.
    2. Re:RPC vulnerability by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 2, Interesting
      NFS is installed, but not configured for RedHat by default. Having set up a number of networks, you have to jump through a few hoops to get NFS working.

      Windows throws open and administrator share out of the box.

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  17. Re:Why are ATMs unprotected on the Internet anyway by grub · · Score: 2, Informative


    I'm amazed that those ATMs were connected to the Internet

    Maybe they weren't. You needn't be connected to the internet to catch a worm. Any LAN/WAN/VPN will do.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  18. Why not? by devross · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Despite the allure of hard cash, don't expect to see a rash of made-for-Hollywood ATM hacks -- machines around the country suddenly spitting out wads of 20s at random, said Marc Maiffret, Windows expert and "chief hacking officer" at California-based eEye Digital Security.

    Hey, why not? Nachi wasn't tailored for ATMs, but it still got a few. Imagine a virus/worm that _was_ meant specificly for ATMs. I bet something like that could achieve a pretty big impact.

    Ah well. Just my $.02

    --


    If these walls could talk they'd probly still ignore me. --MF DOOM
  19. Re:Propogation by Petronius · · Score: 4, Funny

    This means that after each 'correct' vote, the voting machine wires $20 to your bank account.

    --
    there's no place like ~
  20. That explains it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I remember thinking how weird it was to have my ATM suggest an exclusive opportunity to increase the length of my penis.

    1. Re:That explains it by spotteddog · · Score: 2, Funny

      Go ahead, just put it in the slot..... :-)

      --
      . there used to be a sig here.....
  21. Just lame by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "But worms are always going to be able to infect a lot more interesting machines than individual intruders are." Moreover, before reaching an ATM network, a human attacker would likely encounter more alluring high-finance targets along the way. "They're going to have to go through a lot of juicer networks first."

    Just the fact that ATM machines are reachable from the public Internet is a huge cause of concern to me. A VPN connection without an intervening firewall at the ATM machine itself (which they claim they are installing now) is plain ridiculous.

    You are then just hoping that none of the insiders will try to sabotage the machines, either knowingly, or unknowingly because of an infected laptop etc. They have to realize that VPN is a VIRTUAL PRIVATE network, and NOT a dedicated line, and hence, security measures have to be MUCH more stronger than if it was a REAL private connection. Does it take rocket science to figure that out?

    And then there's that quote from the " Windows expert and "chief hacking officer" that malocious hackers will probably not go for ATM machines, even though they are reachable/hackable, because of other "jucier targets", presumably the bank network itself. Most malicious hackers would do it just for the fun of making an ATM machine spew out cash, if they figure out they can make it do that. That is a very lame assumption from a security expert.

    And finally, for your reading convenience, here's an earlier /. story which mentions that 65% of the ATMs will be running a stripped down version of Windows by 2005.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  22. DHCP errors by jbrw · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Around about this time I saw an ATM in Mayfair, London, with a windows error message in the middle of the screen. It was complaining that a DHCP server couldn't be found, and was happily waiting for someone to come along and click on the OK button.

    Mashing the keypad didn't seem to help. I guess sooner or later they would have realised the ATM had disappeared and would have sent a tech out to press reset or something.

  23. What impact to ATMs, other than going offline? by Slider451 · · Score: 5, Informative

    There's no personal data stored in an ATM. It's just a dumb terminal.

    And Nachi basically makes the machine unusable.

    Without specific code that target's ATMs, this is merely a generic nuisance that happened to hit what some consider a sensitive device.

    Scary when you think what could happen, and frustrating when you think of the loss of trust in the security admins. But let's keep this in perspective. Nothing serious happened and it's a big step to get to where something serious will happen.

    Hopefully those responsible have been sacked, and the new security llamas won't make the same mistakes.

    --
    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
  24. Diebold incompetence, not Windows by SuperBanana · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The same Diebold that has grossly insecure voting machines [slashdot.org]?

    Funny- I was just at the ATM today, and I glanced down and saw the Diebold tag. They're pieces of crap- barely a few years old, nobody cleans them, the screens are dim and usually require breaking your finger- and they're SLOW as molassis. Slow as in "I have only three or four things I can do but it still takes me a minute to give you cash"- and it can't all be explained away by network latency. Things like the machine sitting there locked up for 20 seconds or more after the last person leaves, before it will unlock the card slot. What is it doing, debating the meaning of life? It's a fucking ATM machine. It makes you wonder if the whole thing is written in really, really bad VB...or maybe Flash.

    In any case- I agree with the parent. I could care less what the thing runs, as long as they're competent. The voting machines demonstrated that they're completely incompetent. This just goes to show that our suspicion that they're -also- probably incompetent at making secure ATMs.

    1. Re:Diebold incompetence, not Windows by DavidTC · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I know, what the fuck is with ATMs?

      I understand some transactions have to go over the network, and it's not at all obvious when that happens...for example, your PIN is not confirmed when you type it in, it's sent with any tranaction you request, as you will discover if you mistype it. The machine will let you in and you can pretend to do things, and then it will talk to the bank and kick you out.

      But there are things that cannot, under any circumstances, be explained by network delays.

      I do a fast cash, okay? The ATM has to do several things...it sends the request over the network, confirming I am me. This happens in a reasonable amount of time, and I get a nice message on the screen.

      Next the machine does three things: Print a reciept, eject my card, and kick out my money. How the fuck does that part take fifteen seconds? And it's not some poorly designed money sorter, as my money comes out first. Then a five second pause, then it ejects my card, and then a five second pause, and it starts printing.

      It's completely absurd for a computer now. Hell, it would be absurd for a computer 30 years ago.

      It should be starting all those operations at the same time, this is the year 2003, we have multitasking. It should take maybe four seconds total as your receipt prints and the money sorter does its work.

      --
      If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
    2. Re:Diebold incompetence, not Windows by sxpert · · Score: 3, Informative

      nope. atms are equipped with secure IBM-manufactured crypto cards, and check the pin themselves with a complicated algorithm involving the card number and an offset stored on the magnetic stripe

    3. Re:Diebold incompetence, not Windows by eightheadsofdoom · · Score: 3, Insightful

      atms are equipped with secure IBM-manufactured crypto cards, and check the pin themselves with a complicated algorithm involving the card number and an offset stored on the magnetic stripe

      That doesn't make sense, seeing as I can walk into the bank and have them change my PIN to something mnemonic. Is this stripe getting overwritten each time? Because I know they don't give you a new card to change that PIN...

    4. Re:Diebold incompetence, not Windows by geoffspear · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Then it's pretty amazing that my bank can change my PIN without me giving them my card. Do they have some sort of satellite transmitter that can change the magnetic strip while it's in my wallet?

      --
      Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
  25. Re:They wouldn't be allowed to patch it anyways by Valar · · Score: 5, Funny

    We have a new record! Someone didn't even make it all the way through the article TITLE. First, it was rtfa (the linked article). Then it was rtfa (the slashdot article). Now do we need to go to rtft (read the fucking title)? The article is about diebold ATMs, not voting machines.

  26. Re:They wouldn't be allowed to patch it anyways by j-turkey · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Not to defend Diebold, but they wouldn't even be allowed to patch the systems.

    I'm with you on this one...which is not to say that I agree with Diebold's business practices. However, it's not Microsoft's fault if some butthead forgot to patch their system -- the same way it's not RedHat's fault if some butthead forgot to patch their system and got owned. How can Diebold be blamed here? It's the eu's responsibility to maintain their system.

    Now I don't know anything about ATM machines and associated contracts...but I assume that responsibility of maintenance either falls into the hands of the owner of the machine, or the bank issuing the cash -- not the manufacturer.

    --Turkey
    --

    -Turkey

  27. Why does an ATM need XP? by corebreech · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're talking about a dumb terminal here, aren't we? Let the user login with his card, enter a passcode, then enter input which gets sent to a server somewhere to be processed and which sends back either output to be displayed to the user or output to be read by the machine which gives you your money.

    The same criticism applies to Diebold's voting machines.

    This is why Linux would be such an ideal solution. No application of Linux has impressed me more than the (now sadly defunct) Linux Router Project, simply because it demonstrated how for many tasks most of the operating system amounted to nothing more than ballast. They were able to boot a router from a floppy.

    This is how I think an ATM--or a voting machine--should work. The amount of software should be kept to an absolute minimum if for no other reason than that it minimizes complexity, and in these kinds of applications, complexity is the mother of all evil.

    And in the case of the voting machines, it would also greatly assist in auditing the code and making sure that what you think is executing is what's executing.

  28. Re:Why are ATMs unprotected on the Internet anyway by thedillybar · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm amazed that those ATMs were connected to the Internet, without apparently even a firewall to block all but necessary ports.

    The ATMs are not connected to the Internet. They are on an intranet, most likely with other ATMs and their database server, hopefully nothing more.

    Agreed there is no firewall. The original idea was probably only to allow trusted machines onto the intranet in the first place. This follows the same logic (or lack-thereof) of people that don't use firewalls because they're behind a NAT.

    The problem is allowing machines that were once on the Internet (and thus, may be tainted) onto the intranet. When some employee hooks up his laptop to work on an ATM, it probably connects to the intranet to let the database server know he's messing with it. The problem is that he was on the Internet yesterday and got infected with a worm/virus, which is now spreading itself through the intranet. The result: a tainted machine on a network that was intended only for trusted machines.

    I think the idea of a Sygate firewall on every individual machine is a great idea. This will be a rather easy improvement to make (at least for new ATMs) and will give each individual ATM its own security against intranet intruders. Thus, when a tainted machine gets on the trusted network, the ATMs have (at least a little) self-defense.

  29. Embedded XP? What were they thinking? by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 5, Interesting
    WTF goes through somebody's head when they decide to use MS Windows for an embedded project?!

    Windows' strength, pretty much its only strength, is legacy compatability. But an ATM doesn't need to run Excel or some 8-year-old custom Visual Basic application that an irresponsible manager got the company locked into. Really, it's ok to use decent software for embedded projects, nothing should hold you back.

    Using Windows in an ATM, sounds like a classic application of the saying: "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."

    --
    "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
  30. Diebold voting machines... by joebeone · · Score: 2, Informative
    Diebold voting machines run Windows CE... a properly tailored worm could take advantage of their code (especially if it is as poorly written as the rest of their elections software) and bring an election day to a halt. Also note that they don't have to get the drivers and CE software certified by states and feds. as they claim it is COTS (commercial off the shelf) eventhough they write tons of code in house for CE.

    For more see Jim March's comments to the CA Secretary of State here

  31. Unfortunatly, he's right... by ghettoboy22 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I work at a major financial services company as well, and he's right. The entire ATM network is being migrated over to public Internet structure, and OS/2 is being phased out for XP.

    *sigh*

  32. Re:Why are ATMs unprotected on the Internet anyway by j0217995 · · Score: 2, Informative

    As someone who works in a bank, I have seen a Diebold repair tech hook up his laptop directly to the ATM to do some work on it. So the laptop could have been the one that was infected.

    Also you most of the program information comes from the Processing Center that is driving the ATMs which are all on a network. For example when we changed ATM Processors, the tech had to connect to the system and get a "load" from the new processing center to connect. These ATMs are connected over some form of leased line.

    I am glad to know that our ATMs are running OS/2 Warp and were unaffected by this bug

  33. Re: QNX is the way to go by alfredo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I remember when the tech weenies at the post office were big Windows lovers. The post office bought the new Loral letter sorting machines that used QNX. Soon the techies were singing the praises of QNX. Never once did I see a lick of trouble with the computers. The only times the techies had to come was for upgrades and hardware troubles and periodic mandated maintenance.

    --
    photosMy Photostream
  34. How do we know? by mcc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Without specific code that target's ATMs, this is merely a generic nuisance that happened to hit what some consider a sensitive device. ...
    Scary when you think what could happen, and frustrating when you think of the loss of trust in the security admins. But let's keep this in perspective. Nothing serious happened and it's a big step to get to where something serious will happen


    How do you know something serious didn't happen?

    So the Nachi worm hit these machines, and its big and obvious, and it breaks the machines. But the Nachi worm moves by brute force; it hit these ATMs by accident. How do we know that during the time before the ATMs were hit, someone with actual, targetted, malicious intent didn't at some point hit a few of the ATMs using the same exploit Nachi did?

    If someone doing it on purpose had hit the ATMs, they could have done something much more subtle. Something that wouldn't have been noticed the way the Nachi worm was, something that (given how unconcerned everyone seems about this) probably wouldn't be noticed at all, even after the Nachi incident. Something like a small patch to the ATM UI that quietly records the ATM card number, personal information, and PIN# of everyone who uses that ATM, then quietly dumps that somewhere on the internet later. It wouldn't be that difficult, and the Nachi thing simply proves its possible.

    It's not a big step at all to get to the point where something serious could happen. It's barely even a step at all, as it's just a step of exactly the distance between a worm hitting an ATM at random and someone with a little bit of intent, knowledge, and time sitting down and deciding they're going to hack an ATM.

  35. Greer, Pfleeger, Schneier et. al. were right ... by JonKatzIsAnIdiot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Greer, Pfleeger, Schneier, Metzger and the rest of the contributing authors of CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly were right. This incident proves it . The most likely source of the infection is an infected laptop being plugged into the protected network. Had the ATM's been running a different operating system - even the ancient OS/2 - they would not have been infected.

    It is also very interesting to note that they only found the worm because the infected machines tripped the IDS with excessive network traffic. From this we can infer:
    1. A worm that was less aggressive with it's scans would probably not have been detected and could possibly still be operating today.
    2. They probably don't have any host-based intrusion detection systems in place. No automated file integrity checking, no authorized process lists.

    It's a good thing for us that the worm and virus writers (thus far) have been gifted programmers, but otherwise dumber than a bag of hammers. A well-written subtle worm could probably cripple most of the developed world.

  36. Re:Embedded XP? What were they thinking? by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 2, Insightful
    WTF goes through somebody's head when they decide to use MS Windows for an embedded project?!
    Hell, they don't come easier than that:
    phb to techie How quick can you get me a demo of the new embedded project?
    techie to phb I can do you a really crap one in 1 hour with Visual Basic, but we will need to code the proper one in C, and that will take 3 months
    phb to client The system will be ready tomorrow

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  37. ATM Horror by h4rm0ny · · Score: 5, Interesting


    A few years ago when I was a naive young UNIX programmer I came to the cash machine and got the firght of my life. There, floating over the blocky PIN login screen was a windows Illegal Error box.

    Up until that moment I had always assumed the cash machines were running some specially written firmware on specially made hardware. This was a massively important and widespread system after all.

    Oh - how young I was.

    --

    Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
    1. Re:ATM Horror by the_mad_poster · · Score: 2

      Way to go. You just e-mailed a technical question to a bunch of underpaid, overworked lackeys who had nothing to do with the decision and will probably never see anyone who did.

      Bear in mind that, beyond that, the trend in Customer *cough*fuckright*cough* Service these days is to use canned responses for as long as possible in the naive hope that eventually the whiny customer goes away in frustration. You'll be lucky to get a response, much less one that makes any sense.

      --
      Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
    2. Re:ATM Horror by Angst+Badger · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Up until that moment I had always assumed the cash machines were running some specially written firmware on specially made hardware. This was a massively important and widespread system after all.

      I had assumed they were 8-bit machines, probably packing a 6502 or a Z80, with an EEPROM containing all of the necessary code. I made this assumption because that should be enough to handle ATM operations, the actual computing hardware would be cheap and secure, and that block font most of them use is the same as the uppercase-only font on the early Apple II machines.

      I walked up to an ATM this past weekend and saw an OS/2 error window floating over the simulated bitmap font. I was grateful it wasn't Windows, but still...

      --
      Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
    3. Re:ATM Horror by ruiner13 · · Score: 2, Funny
      "A few years ago when I was a naive young UNIX programmer I came to the cash machine and got the firght of my life. There, floating over the blocky PIN login screen was a windows Illegal Error box."

      My bank, Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union, has biometrics (i.e. finger scanner) ATMs in several locations. One day I came to make a deposit and BLAMO! Blue screen of death. NT Kernel Protection error. I bet windoze is more widespread than you think in the banking industry (unfortunately), and not always in the somewhat-safer "windows lite" versions. Just wait until the US Navy has battleships and aircraft carriers running windows. Can clippy land an F-14? I doubt it.

      --

      today is spelling optional day.

    4. Re:ATM Horror by dryeo · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Actually, it wasn't that long ago that a large number of ATMs were running a version of IBM's OS/2 (2.1 I think). Not sure why banks are switching. OS/2 has probably got a fairly high "security through obcurity" quotient as well as having been relatively stable in that application. Can't say I know what real vulnerabilities it has, although I'm sure they exist.

      Actually for a long time ATMs ran OS/2 ver 1.3, the old 16 bit version sold by IBM and Microsoft. With Y2K they were upgraded to OS/2 ver 4 or NT (which was quite capable of running 16 bit OS/2 command line programs, after all it did start out as OS/2 ver 3 NT).

      OS/2 is quite stable as long s it has high quality hardware to run on, very unstable with crappy hardware. As for vulnerabilities, an ATM install should have very few as OS/2 is modular enough that I'd imagine an ATM would have a minimal install. Most vulnabilities come from things like ported *nix software, insecure Lanman passwords, Rexx scripting and so on which should not be installed on ATMs. One of the main reasons for using OS/2 was because it was easy to connect to the IBM mainframes that were running the banks. This would not use TCPIP and be over a dedicated wire, much more secure. The only vulnerabilities I have seen IBM address have been flaws in the TCPIP stack which allowed DOS attacks.

      I believe there was a couple of viriuses created in the lab that infected OS/2 but none ever in the wild.

      I personally have only been infected once with a boot sector virus due to a bad piece of hardware and my leaving the floppy in the drive when rebooting
      Dave, who is still proudly running OS/2 ver 4.5

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    5. Re:ATM Horror by zrail · · Score: 3, Informative

      The Navy does use Windows NT. See here.

      Choice quote: The Navy selected NT 4.0 as the standard operating system aboard the Yorktown for its reliability, functionality, low cost and ease of integration, said Lt. Danny Bethel, Yorktown's electronics material officer. NT runs the Yorktown's integrated bridge, engineering, condition assessment and damage control systems.

    6. Re:ATM Horror by KD5YPT · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Isn't Yorktown the ship that got stranded in sea once and have to return with an ancient diesel engine because of a computer failure caused by a single zero in one of the input?

      --
      In US, you can easily buy enough major firearms to wipe out your neighbourhood but a few little fireworks are banned.
    7. Re:ATM Horror by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes.

      It was a divide-by-zero error in the application which subsequently took down the entire operating system. At the time, MS pointed out that the divide-by-zero was the application's fault, not theirs. Smart people pointed out that any operating system that can't handle a common application fault like divide by zero is complete shit.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    8. Re:ATM Horror by crucini · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, if the (h|cr|att)acker were clever, he could use this scenario to camouflage a theft. Design the attack so half the accounts are net gainers and half are net losers. Imagine a bell curve centered around 0. Maybe 3% of accounts gained or lost more than $10,000. The (h|cr|att)acker's accounts just happen to be in the upper 3%.

      Still wouldn't work in the long run, for lots of reasons. The banks have backups, and when ATMs have erroneously given money to customers, the banks have chased it down.

  38. OT: Sendmail by red+floyd · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, but remember, sendmail was designed in the "good old days", when there were maybe a few hundred hosts, and people on the Net trusted each other!

    --
    The only reason we have the rights we have is that people just like us died to gain those rights. -- Cheerio Boy
  39. unsafe at any speed by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If they can't even bother to patch Windows on ATMs, which is a much more competitive market, why would they secure our voting machines? The Federal Election Commission (FEC) should require an ISO9001-style process certification for all voting equipment vendors, but with more security criteria. Diebold's bank customers can fire them and recover the money, but the botched 2004 election will be an unrecoverable error.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  40. Windows Infected. Oops... I mean Embedded. by halfabee · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We had a similar problem when the Nachi worm got loose on our network... After scurrying about and patching all of our desktops and servers, we still had Nachi hiding out on our network. Every time I built a new computer with an unpatched image, it got infected. In the end, the culprit was an Iomega NAS device (for those who are unfamiliar with it, this is a network storage appliance... think RAID array with a NIC.) We have two on our network. The older one, running FreeBSD kernel, had no problems, but the newer "Windows Powered" unit needed patching. For anyone dealing with this problem, nmap will be your savior. Scan your network and look for machines with TCP port 707 open running an "unknown" service. Those are your infected computers.

    --
    -- Halfabee
  41. diebold, diebold. by Mad+Quacker · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1. Create Nachi variation that makes diebold machines all vote republican (or only a few percent extra), including the paper ticket the voter doesn't see.

    2. Wait

    3. World Domination.

    Don't even need access to the machine, zero accountability, to the paper trail, to diebold, to the republican party, etc.

    Fight it like the plague :)

    --
    "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." George HW Bush
  42. I think it wasn't even two months ago... by justsomenick · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... that I read that the Bank of America will migrate all their ATMs from OS/2 to Windows. The reason for that, according to the spokeswoman, was that "Windows made it easier to secure the ATMs". I hope they know what they're doing, but if I were a BofA customer, that sure would be a reason to switch banks (my current bank -fortunately- still uses OS/2) until the security of Windows ATMs were thoroughly proven.

  43. Proven secure? by kylef · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Yeah yeah mod me down if you must but I'd feel much better having embedded Linux (or some other proven secure system) watching my money thank you.

    When you find a "proven secure" operating system, make sure you let everyone know about it. As of the 25th of November 2003, they are as common as the Unicorn and the Free Lunch. That is to say, they don't exist.

  44. "network" != Internet by FenderGeek · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ok, I happen to work for a fairly large financial institution that has several Diebold ATMs, although ours all run OS/2 and therefore aren't vulnerable.

    That being said, and after actually RTFA, I'd say Diebold played their cards pretty close to their chest on this one, because they didn't give a lot of detail. For all intents and purposes, these machines are very "dumb". They have just enough information to operate the machinery and communicate with the host. Everything actually involving getting account information, adjusting balances for withdrawals/deposits, etc. gets done remotely. All the ATMs are "driven" by a controller that acually handles the account information.

    As a result, these machines have to be in constant communication over a network with the host. In our case, this is a private network over leased lines that never gets anywhere near "The Internet". However, like I said, they are still in constant communication with the host (a.k.a. "server"), which has to be tied in to the bank's network in order to pass messages back and forth regarding user's accounts. This host runs Windows NT/2000/whatever.

    Ok try to keep up now...
    So, (1)the Nachi worm comes in through the Internet and infects any random machine on the network. (2) That machine starts spreading to the rest of the network, eventually (3) getting to the ATM host ("server") machine. (4) The host, through it's own private network with the ATM machines now infects all the ATMs. Before you know it, Bob's your uncle, and your totally removed from the Internet ATM machines are now infected because of one PC workstation with an opening.

    Now I'm not defending Diebold here. What they did was stupid, and is exactly why we're still running an ancient OS on our machines. I'm just trying to enlighten those that seem to think their every transaction is buzzing through the open 'Net.

    --
    One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duck tape to make them stop. ~G.M. Weilacher
  45. Why have an OS at all? by BryanR1977 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When you can use something like this. Write the whole thing in C (not quite standard) or buy the realtime OS for it. Then you'd have only what you need and no other stuff that is a possible exploit.

  46. Used to be banks were concerned about image by Thud457 · · Score: 3, Funny
    "I guess they are trying to make it look so modern and sophisticated instead of a early 80's green mono monitor."

    Used to be that American money was real honest-to-God GREENBACKS, not some funny, furrin looking fruit color with corporate logos on it.

    Use to be that banks were always built, well, like banks, heavy, solid, safe looking hulking stone fortesses.

    That's what the 80's green mono monitor always said to me. "We're interested in what's known and safe and secure, not flashy video ads to sell you stamps while you wait for your cash."

    Now it's all "Did you see this week's twenty? It's got Jessica Lynch and a coupon for Chik-Fil-A on it!"

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  47. What about voting machines? by Bytesmiths · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Hell, viruses in ATMs are NOTHING! I'm sure CEOs of firms like Enron and Worldcom are much more a threat to the economy.

    What worries me is that Diebold is one of the leading makers of voting machines. Are these machines also subject to such hacking?

    The "Diebold Memos" circulating on the web document the insecurity of their voting machines. Also food for conspiracy theorists: Diebold CEO is a close friend of Dubya, Diebold contributed $300,000 to Dubya's last campaign, and they promised to "deliver Ohio" to Bush in the next election -- a state that has a large majority of Diebold voting machines.

  48. Re:Microsoft excuse hierarchy by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 2, Informative
    Excqueeze me? Logic Police...

    QNX runs aircraft, missiles, and satellites. I would dare say that security IS a design consideration.

    Linux and BSD scale down to PDA's and data recorders. You just pick your flavor and go. And first you claim Linux is bloated, and then that SELinux has no apps.

    As far as a microkernel OS, I'm not sure what you are talking about. Microkernel is design feature for future expansion and development. Performance and security are on par with everything else. I think Linux has done a pretty good job of showing how a monolithic kernel can run everything from a wristwatch to a supercomputer.

    Our problem is not that we have NO embedded OS's. One has to simply select the best on for the application.

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  49. IBM warned 'em by Cybrex · · Score: 5, Informative

    The timing on this is perfect, as I just read an article yesterday (in InfoWeek, I believe) about the effect of IBM's plan to discontinue OS/2 support on ATM manufacturers. The article was a couple of months old, but focused on them suggesting that financial institutions migrate their ATMs to Linux instead of Windows. It seems that the big ATM manufacturers (including Diebold, which featured heavily in the article) are leaning heavily toward Windows despite IBM's recommendation that they go with Linux. Their attitude is that they're running Windows on the back end, so they want it in the ATMs as well.

    Well, now they're getting what they wanted, and I doubt that they'll learn from this. Large banks seem to have a monolithic mindset that's averse to anything new. They're also decidedly pro-Microsoft.

    IBM offers some very effective solutions for integrating Linux-based ATMs with both UNIX and Windows-based back end systems. That companies like Diebold insist on going with insecure, unstable (I've seen an ATM stuck with a BSOD!) software for such sensitive systems is asinine.

    -Cybrex

    --
    Boundless Expansion, Self-Transformation, Dynamic Optimism, Intelligent Technology, Spontaneous Order- BEST DO IT SO!
  50. Hmm... by FrankNputer · · Score: 2, Funny

    I guess they were too busy not "fixing" their voting machines to worry about that little MS patch...

  51. All modern ATMs are running Windows now by Annamite · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why on earth would someone buy ATMs based on Windows?

    Many readers, and average ATM users do not know much about the ATM machines and their operations. And surely banking institutions prefer it that way.

    First of all, there was a revolution in the banking industries about a decade ago. Back then, most of the big banks owned their own little companies to produce their own ATM machines. Those who couldn't afford to design and build their own ordered out, prayed for lucks. The old machines are proprietary, special pieces of hardware to perform a mediocre job over and over again. Every time a bank needs a new feature, it would take forever to fix or change the design. Therefore the industry moved to a generic design, generic OS and specialized software, similar to the IBM compatible model. Hence design cost, development and maintenance cost were all lowered.

    There are several generic ATM makers. NCR, Siemens, Diebolds, etc... They all make generic ATM boxes consisting of cash dispenser, card reader, generic display AND a typical AT/ATX box with normal PCI slots, CD-ROM, standard NIC, etc. Each major bank then set their development teams to work on the hardware platform. After OS/2 's demise, the logical choice and the only choice would be running Microsoft Windows NT.

    There are several advantages:
    . Generic drivers are always plentiful.
    . Special drivers to control specialized hw are supported by the manufacturers, not the banks = less cost.
    . basically one single standard operating environment = quick change, fix, update = easy management. ..

    That's said. NO bank would trust any 3rd party to develop and maintain their ATMs. They all do it themselves. That means:

    . Developing their own NT environments, no stock OS install, limited install (no games, no std apps)
    . Developing their own platform and applications that talk to the legacy banking networks.
    . Appending complicate encryption using hardware security module (HSM) via PCI slots.
    . Setting up their own automated patching and updating system (not SMS) for thousand of machines located across the country. ..

    Hence, Diebold ATM mentioned in the article is all hogwash. The banking institution was not named, and I doubt that it would be any big ones. I believe that the machines could have been running stock OS and generic ATM apps had they belongs to those shady ATM operators that set up machines in 7/11 store and other convenient stores.

    For almost all of us out there, we all have put our hard-earned money into some decent banking institutions. Right?

  52. Re:Ahh, yesss! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Funny

    AccuVote results are in:

    Yes: -35,002
    No: 8,667,000,002
    Cowboy Neal: Orangutan

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are