New Delhi: In view of increasing incidents of Man in the Middle (MiTM) attacks on ATMs, all banks have been asked to enhance their safety norms for ATMs through end-to-end encryption in the network, officials said.
In a recent communication to all banks, the central government has said the MiTM attacks have been increasing under which messages sent by ‘ATM Switch’ to ‘ATM Host’ are altered by attackers to withdraw cash fraudulently.
Investigations by security agencies have found that cyber fraud gangs have started adopting a new modus operandi to withdraw money from ATMs, a security official aware of such incidents said.
According to the investigators, the fraudsters first tamper with the network (LAN) cable of the ATM. Declined messages from ‘ATM Switch’ are altered to successful cash withdrawal transaction responses, and subsequently cash is withdrawn from the ATM.
The attacker first inserts a device between the ATM machine and the router or switch in the ATM premises.
This device has the capability to modify the responses back from authorisation host (ATM Switch) which is connected to the ATM through the network. The attacker then uses restricted cards (or blocked cards) to submit a withdrawal request.
When the ‘ATM Switch’ sends a declined message, the attacker in the middle alters the response to approve the transaction and subsequently withdraws cash, the official. PTI

Press Trust of India