20 Sep 2003
Windows Powered ATM's

Now might be a good time to re-order some paper checks and move to a smaller bank or credit union without the exposure of ATM's running Windoze. By the gods, what are these people thinking???!!!

They even seem to have snookered Bruce Schneier, a man whose opinions I generally respect ...

He pointed out that the machines would not operate online and therefore would not become vulnerable to a malicious Internet attack or to some virus passed around in an e-mail attachment. Because the machines have no peripherals like floppy disks, it would be difficult for a cracker to install code or steal information.

Bruce, dude, THEY WILL BE ONLINE - that's the point of an ATM, it's constantly connected to the internal banking network. And once they're on Windoze, as the article points out, it'll be easy to add features to ATM's, like making them vend tickets. That would pretty much require being online, eh?

And no I/O devices? Gimme a break - what do you put into the machine to make it give you money? A mag striped card, or in some instances, a 'smart card' with embedded flash memory.

Maybe they just ought to put Willie Sutton in charge of the transition to the new operating enviroment - it would make the inevitable somewhat easier to understand.

Windows to Power ATMs in 2005. Most U.S. banks plan to convert their ATMs to the Windows operating system by 2005. Will this move make bank customers vulnerable to malicious Internet attacks and the infamous blue screen of death? By Elisa Batista. [Wired News]

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