IBM Opens New Labs for Cracking ATMs, IoT Devices

IBM’s X-Force Red, a team of veteran hackers focused on finding security vulnerabilities in devices and systems, now has four new labs to work in.

The new network of facilities provides all the toys required for testing the security of consumer and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, automotive equipment, and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), both before and after they are deployed to customers.

Referred to as X-Force Red Labs, the new facilities are located in Austin, TX; Hursley, England; Melbourne, Australia; and Atlanta, GA. Additionally, the IBM X-Force Red has launched a dedicated ATM Testing practice.

The IBM X-Force Red team has seen significant growth, experiencing penetration testing client base increase by over 170% in the last year and doubling the number of X-Force Red practitioners across multiple domains.

“IBM X-Force Red has one mission – hack anything to secure everything. Via X-Force Red Labs, we have the ability to do just that, in a secure and controlled environment,” Charles Henderson, Global Managing Partner, IBM X-Force Red, said.

Services provided by IBM X-Force Red through the new four global testing labs include documenting product requirements with product engineers, technical analysis to scope the penetration test, disclosing potential threats and risks to the product and company, creating and implementing a list of security requirements, and actual hacking into products the same as real-world attackers would do.

With over 300 million ATMs globally, finding and addressing vulnerabilities in these systems is one of the key activities the X-Force Red team engages in. According to IBM, it saw a 300% increase in requests for ATM testing, mainly driven by a massive increase in attacks on these devices.

The jackpotting attacks on ATMs, which are performed using both malware and physical access to the machines, have reached the United States as well. With many ATMs running outdated software, cybercriminals attempt to find and exploit vulnerabilities in them for financial gain.

X-Force Red ATM Testing service can help identify and remediate physical, hardware and software vulnerabilities within ATMs before the attackers, IBM says.

The team evaluates the physical, network, application, and computer system security of ATMs, leverages the same tools and methods as criminals do to hack into these machines, helps hardening systems and defenses, and reviews ATM logs to help financial organizations stay in compliance with industry standards.

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