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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe biggest new ATM threat in 2025–2026 is malware-enabled jackpotting. The FBI reported more than 700 U.S. incidents and over $20 million in losses during 2025, within approximately 1,900 incidents reported since 2020. Unlike ordinary skimming, jackpotting can make an ATM dispense cash without a card, customer account or normal bank authorization. ATM security now has to cover the machine, its cash, payment cards, software, maintenance access and the people using it.
What changed in ATM security
In its February 19, 2026 alert, the FBI reported more than 700 jackpotting incidents and losses exceeding $20 million in the United States during 2025. It said approximately 1,900 incidents had been reported since 2020. The Department of Justice also reported that 93 defendants had been charged in an international jackpotting investigation as of February 20, 2026.
The shift matters because criminals increasingly attack the ATM itself rather than first stealing a customer’s card data. Malware such as the Ploutus family can abuse the ATM’s Windows and eXtensions for Financial Services (XFS) middleware to issue commands to the dispenser. A machine may then release cash outside the ordinary authorization path. A conventional card-fraud system may see no suspicious card transaction at all.
The FBI’s figures are incident counts, not a complete year-over-year prevalence rate, so they should not be presented as a measured percentage increase. They do establish that jackpotting is a current, material U.S. loss category.
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Jackpotting: the main current threat
Jackpotting means causing an ATM to dispense cash outside a legitimate, authorized withdrawal.
Malware jackpotting
Attackers install malicious code on the ATM and use its own hardware-control interfaces to command the dispenser. The FBI says observed campaigns have used Ploutus and can work across different manufacturers when the underlying Windows environment is exploited, sometimes with limited code adjustment. That does not mean every ATM or operating system is vulnerable.
Black-box attacks
A black-box attack uses an external electronic device connected to the dispenser or related circuitry. The device sends commands without necessarily installing malware in the ATM’s operating system.
Logical and physical jackpotting
Logical attacks manipulate software, communications or transaction state. Physical jackpotting involves forcibly opening the machine or reaching internal components. These categories overlap: physical access may be the route used to stage a logical or malware attack.
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How attackers get inside an ATM
The FBI says observed attackers have opened ATM faces with generic keys, removed hard drives, copied malware to them and reinstalled them, replaced legitimate drives with foreign drives or other malicious devices, and used removable media.
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That makes cabinet locks, maintenance hatches, USB ports and service procedures cybersecurity controls. Network segmentation cannot prevent cash loss if an attacker can open the cabinet, alter the disk or reboot the machine.
Why traditional fraud monitoring can miss it
Jackpotting can bypass the ATM’s original communications and security software and dispense cash without a customer account or bank authorization. Card-transaction analytics therefore may not explain the loss.
Operators should correlate:
- Dispenser commands and ATM-state telemetry.
- Door, vibration and tamper sensors.
- Cash counts and reconciliation results.
- Endpoint, operating-system and network logs.
- Maintenance tickets, technician identities and video.
This is an operational implication of local malware: cash-control and physical evidence matter as much as payment authorization records.
Card and PIN threats remain important
Skimming
Skimmers capture magnetic-stripe data through an overlay, an inserted device or a modified reader. Criminals may capture the PIN with a keypad overlay or hidden camera. The FBI advises inspecting readers, covering the keypad and reporting suspected skimming.
The European Payments Council describes newer external and insert skimmers, including non-metallic, stereo-analogue and inlay designs. EMV reduces many counterfeit-card attacks but does not eliminate PIN theft, fallback transactions, compromised terminals or weaknesses outside regions where chip protections are fully enforced.
Shimming
A shimmer is an internal device inserted into a chip-card slot to intercept communication with an EMV chip. Because it sits inside the reader, it can be harder to see than an external skimmer.
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PIN capture
A stolen card number is more useful when the PIN is also captured. Anti-overlay keypad design, encrypted PIN pads, correctly positioned cameras and customer awareness address different parts of this risk; none is sufficient alone.
Man-in-the-middle and relay attacks
The European Payments Council describes attacks that intercept communication between an EMV card and an ATM and relay it to another attacker-controlled device or ATM. The described pattern also requires PIN capture. These are more complex than ordinary skimming and should not be treated as equally prevalent in every country.
Cash trapping, card trapping and transaction reversal
Cash trapping
A device blocks the cash slot so money remains inside the machine. The criminal retrieves it later, often after the customer leaves.
Card trapping
An insert retains the customer’s card. A stranger may then offer “help” while attempting to obtain the PIN or card.
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The machine appears to dispense cash or complete a transaction, but the transaction state is manipulated so the criminal receives value without the expected accounting result. NCR Atleos maintains a security-alert archive covering transaction reversal, skimming, malware jackpotting, physical-access jackpot attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks and DMA attacks. The archive shows the attack classes manufacturers track; it does not establish that each is equally common worldwide.
DMA and other hardware-level attacks
NCR Atleos published a June 11, 2025 alert for Direct Memory Access (DMA) attacks. DMA is a hardware-level category in which an attacker with physical access may interact with system memory or connected components in ways that bypass ordinary software controls. The available alert index does not establish affected models, prerequisites or confirmed losses, so operators should obtain the underlying manufacturer bulletin before making fleet-wide assumptions.
The defensive stack for ATM operators
1. Harden physical access
- Replace standard locks where generic replacement keys are obtainable; use controlled or keypad-based maintenance access.
- Add vibration, temperature and tamper sensors.
- Protect maintenance hatches and cashboxes with barriers and alarms.
- Cover the ATM, service area, vestibule and approach paths with cameras, and retain footage for investigations.
- Inspect unexpected low-cash or no-cash states promptly.
These measures are consistent with the FBI alert and Diebold Nixdorf’s published ATM-security options, which include safe protection, alarms, cameras, ink-staining cassettes and anti-cash-trapping and anti-skimming features.
2. Protect the boot chain and hardware
- Validate systems against a cryptographically verified, vendor-approved gold image.
- Use disk encryption, TPM-backed integrity checks where supported, signed firmware and device whitelisting.
- Restrict USB and removable media, and control permissions between components.
- Maintain software and hardware bills of materials and memory-integrity protections.
- Consider automatic out-of-service behavior when several jackpotting indicators occur together.
Encryption makes offline disk modification harder but creates key-management and recovery obligations. Automatic shutdown can stop cash loss but may create false outages if thresholds are too sensitive.
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3. Control applications and remote support
- Use application allowlisting and monitor for unsigned or newly introduced executables.
- Control process creation and service installation.
- Remove or block unauthorized remote-access tools.
- Restrict management traffic with IP allowlisting, segmentation and strong administrator authentication.
- Test patches and vendor tools before production deployment.
NCR Atleos describes endpoint capabilities including secure hard-disk encryption, remote BIOS updates, Secure Whitelisting/Solidcore and remote dispenser protection. Those are vendor product descriptions, not independent comparative test results.
4. Log the attack sequence
The FBI recommends Windows auditing that can produce these events when the relevant policies and permissions are configured:
| Event | What to watch |
|---|---|
| 6416 | New external device detected |
| 4663 | File access or modification, using targeted SACLs |
| 4688 | Process creation, with command-line data where appropriate |
| 4697 | Service installation |
| 1102 | Security log cleared |
| 4719 | Audit policy changed |
A useful investigative sequence is: removable device inserted, files copied or modified, an unexpected process launched, a service installed, then logs cleared. The FBI presents this as a possible sequence, not a universal signature. Command-line auditing can record sensitive data, so test retention, access and privacy controls before enabling it broadly.
5. Reconcile cash and preserve evidence
Cash reconciliation should be tied to dispenser commands, transaction records, maintenance events and video. If an ATM is suspicious, preserve the disk, logs and footage before reimaging it.
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What consumers should do
- Prefer ATMs inside banks or other well-monitored locations.
- Avoid readers that are loose, crooked, damaged or unusually bulky.
- Cover the keypad while entering your PIN and look for suspicious cameras or overlays without dismantling anything.
- Use contactless or mobile-wallet withdrawals when your bank and the ATM support them.
- Turn on transaction alerts and monitor the account after using a suspicious machine.
- Report suspected tampering to the bank or operator and through the FBI’s skimming-reporting guidance.
- If the ATM retains your card, contact the issuer immediately and do not accept assistance from a stranger.
These steps mainly reduce card-data and PIN theft. They do not stop a bank-side jackpotting attack, which primarily targets the operator’s machine and cash supply.
How banks and operators should prioritize spending
| Threat | Primary target | Priority controls | Residual limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malware jackpotting | ATM OS, XFS and dispenser | Gold-image validation, allowlisting, encryption, endpoint monitoring and physical access control | Network monitoring alone may miss local staging |
| Black-box attack | Dispenser interface | Secure dispenser communication, port restrictions and physical tamper response | Requires hardware and vendor compatibility |
| Skimming or shimming | Card-reader data | Secure readers, tamper detection, EMV/contactless acceptance and inspection | Does not prevent PIN capture or account takeover |
| Cash trapping | Cash slot and shutter | Shutter sensors, anti-trapping design and prompt inspection | False alarms can increase service calls |
| Physical burglary | Safe, cabinet and cashbox | Barriers, alarms, cameras and cash-neutralization systems | Higher capital and maintenance cost |
| DMA or hardware attack | Memory and peripheral interfaces | Supported firmware, port control and manufacturer guidance | Applicability varies by model |
| Transaction reversal | Transaction and accounting state | Vendor patches, state monitoring and reconciliation | May require processor-wide changes |
Incident response when an ATM looks compromised
- Place it out of service when safe and operationally appropriate.
- Preserve logs, video, maintenance records, cash counts and network data.
- Do not immediately reimage or replace the disk.
- Record the make, model, serial number, software version, vendor, location and last legitimate service event.
- Isolate unauthorized remote connections and removable devices under the incident plan.
- Contact the manufacturer, processor, bank security team and law enforcement.
- Reconcile physical cash against transaction and dispenser logs.
- Rebuild only from a verified gold image after evidence preservation and root-cause review.
The FBI asks incident reporters to provide bank information, ATM make and model, vendor contacts and available logs.
Buying and governance checklist
For a new ATM, endpoint product or managed service, ask:
- Which specific attack path does it prevent, detect or report?
- Is it compatible with the exact ATM model, reader, dispenser, operating system and middleware?
- Can it produce centralized evidence for investigations?
- What happens after a false positive, failed update or lost connection?
- Who owns logs and leads emergency response?
- What are the hardware, licensing, support, patching and replacement costs?
- Does it work across a mixed-vendor fleet?
- Is the effectiveness independently tested, or only described by the vendor?
PCI Security Standards Council ATM guidance can help define requirements for readers, PIN-entry devices, software and device management. The Council says the supplement does not replace PCI standards and is not itself a formal ATM-certification requirement. Its product and solutions listings are useful for validation questions, not a guarantee that an entire deployment is secure.
Vendor-integrated options can improve compatibility. Diebold Nixdorf’s Vynamic Security and SMART Managed Services, and NCR Atleos hardware and endpoint offerings, are quote-based commercial products with no public list prices on the cited pages. A managed contract should specify uptime, response times, data access, incident responsibility and exit rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does jackpotting mean my bank account was hacked?
Not necessarily. Jackpotting primarily compromises the ATM and its cash-dispensing process, often without a customer card or account authorization. A broader incident can create other risks, so monitor alerts and report unusual transactions.
Is using contactless withdrawal completely safe?
No. It reduces exposure to a tampered card slot, but it does not prevent jackpotting, physical burglary, compromised ATM software or account takeover.
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