Skip to main content

Here's what a VPN can't protect you from (but you need to use it)

The abbreviation " VPN " has slowly become established among average Internet users, which is certainly good, but the problem is that people have started to see VPN as the ultimate solution to all problems.

How to make an ATM throw out all the money

How to make an ATM throw out all the money

An American expert on "breaking into" computer programs can "force" ATMs to throw out all their money. He presented his method at a conference in Las Vegas.

Criminals usually rob ATMs by setting up small cameras that 'read' customers' cards or, most simply, by breaking down walls and taking away ATMs.

However, hacker Barnaby Jack says that he spent two years working on how to rob an ATM smarter - to break into the ATM computer program.

He presented the results of his work at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, the annual gathering of computer program security experts.

His discovery is very important for banks around the world, which should now introduce new security measures.

Barnaby Jack says that the essence is that all ATMs from the same manufacturer have an identical key for the door behind which the computer's computer connection is. That is why it is easy to access the machine and its program and "order" it to throw out all the money.

Another principle of attacking ATMs, which was found by an American hacker, is based on the fact that the manufacturers of these machines do not use a password for their occasional Internet access to their computers. Thus, the ATM program can be accessed from a distance and the machine can be "ordered" to immediately withdraw all the money or to occasionally withdraw smaller, more difficult to notice amounts.

Barnaby Jack did not give details because, as he said, his goal is not to train someone on how it is done, but at the conference, he attracted a lot of attention from program security experts and upset the ATM manufacturers whose secrets he revealed.

Comments

Popular this month

Chrome crashed in Pwn2Own

Google's Chrome browser crashed during the Pwn2Own competition. Yesterday, the first of three days of the competition was held. Although Pwn2Own has been untouchable in the past two years , the French team, Vupen, was the first to show the existence of two weak points within this browser when it runs on the Windows 7 operating system.

Mobile Browsers

The Internet on mobile devices is becoming more popular and has more and more users. As mobile internet expands, so do mobile browsers. Although the devices themselves already have built-in basic internet browsers, new browsers are constantly appearing. The reason is that each of the programs brings something new and useful. For example, Opera Mini is most popular on older phone models that use Java applications, while on Android platforms Chrome , Firefox ,  Dolphin , and xScope are more represented.

Nintendo server hacked!

Problems with hackers are no longer just PlayStation 3 exclusives. Nintendo confirmed yesterday that their Nintendo America server was hacked but that no information or data was compromised during the attack.

The first Lion update

As part of a software update released yesterday, Apple released OS X 10.7.1 , the first update for their operating system that carries patches for several security vulnerabilities and bugs that accompanied the initial release.

Sony Xperia Z5 Dual Sim review [video + images]

The Xperia Z5 is another great flagship model from the Z family of devices that Sony launched in September this year, about a month ago. The case design is great . The side edges are slightly curved to make the phone fit better in the hand, and the back of the device has a fine finish so there are no glare and fingerprints.