Cash machines dole out money after cyber attacks

Cash machines across the world have handed out millions of pounds to criminals in "jackpotting" operations, according to the FBI.

A cyber gang broke into bank computing systems in Taiwan and Thailand over the summer, with police in Taipei called out on 10 July to reports of ATMs spitting out banknotes.

By the following day, criminals had collected more than $2.6m (£2.09m) without using bank cards.

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"Gang members stood in front of the machines at the appointed hour and collected millions of dollars," says the Wall Street Journal.

Thailand's Government Savings Bank was hit in a similar attack the following month.

Investigators believe hackers broke into computers at the London office of Taiwan's First Commercial bank in May and sent a malicious software update to its cash machines, causing them to empty their cash-carrying cassettes weeks later.

An FBI bulletin has linked the computer program to a Russian gang known as Buhtrap, which it says honed its technique on banks in its homeland before expanding to other countries.

However, a new report by cyber security firm Group-IB now suggests the incidents in Asia are connected to similar jackpotting heists in Europe, including on cashpoints in the UK.

It says the attacks were carried out by a group dubbed Cobalt, which has links to Buhtrap.

"The recent heists in Europe and Asia were run from central, remote command centres, enabling criminals to target large numbers of machines in 'smash and grab' operations," reports Reuters.

The ATM Security Association has declined to comment on Group-IB's findings.