Banks in race against time to upgrade ATMs

Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) is urging banks that operate on the Microsoft operating system to upgrade their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) before the April 8th deadline.

Inside every ATM casing is a computer, and like all such devices each one runs on an Operating System -- and Microsoft’s 12-year old windows XP dominate the ATM market, powering more than 95% of the world’s ATM machines.

Banks and ATM service providers are therefore in a race against time to upgrade their ATM’s before they become hot targets for hackers.

On 8th April, 2014, a deadline looms for all ATM’s running on windows XP to upgrade to Windows 7. That is the day Microsoft (MSFT) cuts off technical support for Windows XP. This means that Microsoft (MSFT) will no longer issue security updates to patch holes in Windows XP, leaving those ATM’s exposed to new kinds of cyber attacks.

A security updates (or patch) is a piece of software designed to fix problems with a computer programme or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and others by improving the usability performance of the overall system. Security updates help make the ATMs less vulnerable to attacks.

In a statement, GhIPSS said Windows 7 Operating System became available in October 2009, and therefore banks have no choice but to update their systems to avoid exposing their customers to hackers.

The statement noted that the Advanced ATM fleets’ operating systems can be updated remotely over their network, whilst older ATMs must be upgraded one by one. It noted further that some other ATMs might either have their components upgraded or discarded altogether if they do not have enough computing power (memory) to run the newer OS, Windows 7. GhIPSS cautioned that while banks and ATM service providers who ignore the deadline will continue to function, they will become more vulnerable to attacks.

There is a lot of pressure, especially from China, on Microsoft to continue to provide support for XP beyond 8th April, 2014 - but the pressure has not really yielded any practical results. However, Microsoft will continue to release patches that will protect computers running on XP for malware until July 2015, but only for Microsoft security essentials. Users will need to have downloaded Microsoft security essentials before April 8 if they require access, the statement added.

Bank and ATM service providers in Ghana will therefore have to ensure that they comply ahead of the date. Some of the providers have begun and are even pairing the operating system upgrade with the upgrade to support EMV.

B&FT Online | Ghana