June 25, 2021 2 min read

A cybersecurity specialist identified a new method to “hack” ATMs to use only a mobile phone with NFC,reports the Wired portal.

The expert Josep Rodríguez , who belongs to the security firm IOActive, developed an application that allowed him to access bank teller information and control them from his cell phone. With it, he was able to know bank account data and managed to get at least one brand to give him cash without having to struggle with it.

The creator of the application did not do it with the intention of robbing ATMs, but to prove that the vulnerability of these systems is dangerous and to urge the providers to take the necessary measures to make them secure systems.

The application makes your cell phone imitate the way the credit card communicates with the cashier. It uses NFC technology , a short-term wireless network between devices that all cell phones have. It takes advantage of bugs in firmware, the basic program that controls the electronic circuits of devices, to be able to corrupt the memory and add its own code.

Rodríguez almost a year ago tried to warn providers that they have flaws in their system that facilitate access to them. However, many do not receive frequent updates to their software which makes it easier to attack them.