Q&A about ATM security points
Source: Nanjing Yuantuo Tech
Date: 2010/08/16
Seeing from ATM crimes all around the country, traditional surveillance mode can hardly meet the demands of current complicated ATM security environment. How to improve security level of ATMs, strengthen ATM’s danger sensing ability and turn passive prevention into proactive security have become an important issue confronted by banks and security service providers. To make it convenient for relevant departments and units to realize actual problems, innovate security thoughts, strengthen prevention ability and improve the industry’s image as well as avoid that the surveillance construction is a mere formality, we integrate the security characteristics of ATMs and self service bankings, analyze features and trends of all kinds of crimes and put forward ATM security points and solutions under new circumstances.
Q1: Does the bank need ATM surveillance system or video evidence system?
A: to bank users, to give pre-warnings, stop crimes and avoid losses are the basic requirements. However, current surveillance system is still on the video evidence period which directly makes the whole incident stuck into a vicious circle “crimes happen – cause losses – police collecting evidence – police solve the crimes – banks compensate – reputation losses”.
How to find crime signs and emit pre-warnings at the very first time is an important part. Only in this way, crimes can be stopped, customers’ losses can be avoided and banks’ images can be kept. Therefore, what banks need is not only video evidence system but also an omni-bearing surveillance security system.
Q2: Whether the ATM surveillance system can solve security problems that ATM faces? Does this system cover the entire contents of ATM security?
A: ATM crimes happened throughout the country have proved again and again the basic truth that single video surveillance system can not solve the security problems that ATM faces. In addition, another thing that is worth noticing is that intelligent video surveillance system that is derived from video surveillance is tied to complicated ATM security environments and small quantities of trials have shown poor effects.
At present, video evidence system is always mistaken as the entire contents of ATM security system. As a matter of fact, there are huge differences between them. There is no denying that video surveillance system plays an irreplaceable role in evidence collecting. However, it has poor effects on the pre-warning stage. Faced with the complicated using environments, we should change the passive video monitoring thoughts and establish a stereo control system based on pre-warning sensor and supplemented by video recordings.
Q3: How to prevent rampant ATM card numbers and passwords theft crimes? Comparisons of advantages and disadvantages of all kinds of technical measures are as follows.
To steal card numbers and passwords from ATMs and clone bank card to withdraw have become very tough problems of police and banks. From technical level, the basic element of cloning a bank card is the bank card number and the only way to obtain it is the card slot on the ATM. Therefore, criminals install number theft equipment on the card slot to steal card numbers. From the perspective of prevention and pre-warning, if the card slot is well kept, the safe of bank card can be guaranteed.
Currently, there are mainly two thoughts on anti number theft:
1. Video recognition –based anti-number theft solution
This solution relies on many factors, for example, whether the image definition meets the minimum need of video analysis or not； whether the image is influenced (such as taking an umbrella, wearing a helmet, scarf or mask or small pieces of reflective paper) or damaged by humans； whether illegal posters with polarizing ability is used； whether the image analysis recognition algorithm is accurate. Only if all the requirements are reached, can it do intelligent analysis. Intelligent image recognition system needs very ideal and harsh conditions, however, these conditions can hardly achieve in the real ATM withdrawal environment. In this respect, the feasibility of video –based intelligent surveillance system is very poor and the actual results are not good, either.
2. Anti-number theft solution based on laser ranging principle
Q4: Why bank card number overlaid on ATM surveillance video recording data? What is the safe card overlay method?
Bank card number overlay can confirm a basic question, that is, the fact that who uses whose card to withdraw. Meanwhile, card number overlay can be very convenient for quick search while collecting evidence. Therefore, card number overlay is of great significance in collecting evidence, proving evidence and using.
Two problems involved in safe card number overlay:
1. How to get card number?
Due to some security incidents, banks in China have reached a universal consensus on this problem, that is card numbers can only be gotten from the card readers on the ATM and it is forbidden to get card number from the network or ATM host.
2. How to overlay card number?
The problem that whether the card number should be completely or partially overlaid on the monitoring video is still disputed. Considering from safe perspective, for example, to prevent ATM maintainers and even inside staff to commit crimes and to prevent suspects steal video host and get depositor’s information on purpose, to overlay card number completely on the surveillance video recordings have serious potential safety hazard.
Q5: Seeing from some happened crimes, incidents such as criminals cut the power of surveillance hosts, cameras or alarms were very common. At current, power supply usually uses mains electricity or utilized UPS power supply. These devices will not have security functions once the power is cut.
Solution: install anti power broken equipment such as “host state monitor”. These devices can emit emergent SMS alarm and sound and light alarm when the power is damaged.
Q6: Why omissions of ATM vault damaged, cut or knocked happen? How to solve?
In some cases, banknote box of the ATM was cut or smashed and the installed vibration sensor can not raise the alarm. This is a typical omission. Tracing its reason, it is because that the customer is not familiar with mechanism of vibration. Vibration is actually a very complicated phenomenon and different vibrations have different frequencies, amplitudes and directions.
Solution: install three-dimensional vibration detector in the banknote box. If the condition is permitted, you can also install temperature sensor.
Q7: How to do quick positioning and judge dangers ATM faces and danger’s level?
Solution: install vibration detectors respectively on banknote box and panel and thus it can judge what kind vibration it is and what purpose of the destructive actions. For example, vibration detector alarm in the banknote box can judge that destructions on the banknote box is a high-risk crime while the one on the panel can be judged as a common violent destructive action.
Q8: Is the video motion detection function suitable for ATM security? How to avoid junk video recordings?
The using environment of video motion detection is usually enclosed such as business hall of banks, vaults and warehouse. When humans or animals move, it will trigger the recording or alarm. However, ATMs are usually installed in the self service banking or on the street. Although it seems that self service banking is also enclosed, but since the glass is previous to light and images of the video camera will cover the streets. Thus non-deposit/withdraw behaviors such as the traffic will also trigger recording. These useless video recordings usually occupy too much hard disk space and become junk files. Therefore, video motion detection function is not suitable for ATM security environment.
Q9: How to prevent ATM surveillance system itself being damaged?
Currently, most ATM surveillance hosts are installed inside ATMs or nearby them. Suspects will damage and even steal the host before or after the crimes which will cause the loss of on-site evidence and it will make it more difficult for the police to solve the crimes. To ensure the safety of ATM surveillance equipment itself has been a basic premise of security system.
To embed anti-vibration, anti-moving and anti-fire sensors in the ATM surveillance host is a very good method to solve this kind of problems, for example, to integrate vibration detector (anti moving, vibration and smashing), temperature alarm (anti fire) in the surveillance host.
Q10: How to try to prevent exchange cards crimes or robberies?
Although ATM screens have prompt functions, criminals usually use fake notification to cover the screen to make cardholders let down their guard. Another important factor is that the prompt always comes after －ing the card and at that time number theft actions have already done. The other factor is that the cardholder does not see the prompts carefully and directly － the card.
It is the most effective publicity to prompt the cardholder all kinds of frauds after entering the self service area.
Publicity method: install independent voice and image warning system.
Q11: How to remind relevant staff to take measures in time when exceptional situations occur?
SMS alarm is a very effective warning notification measure. It can tell the relevant staff in time the alarm information including the place, type and alarm level which makes it very easy to judge and deal with.
Solution: install SMS alarm module.
The above questions include the actual difficulties that the ATM security industry faces at current and possible solutions are also provided here. Generally speaking, traditional single video surveillance thoughts should be changed. It should make full use of all kinds of sensors to establish an integrated system including forward pre-warning, on-site deterrence, device safety, and crime control as well as power projection. Achieve combination of technical protection, physical protection and human protection and create a safe withdrawal environment effectively. Fight ATM crimes and protect cardholder’s benefits as well as maintain bank’s social image and protect the financial order. We believe that under the joint efforts of financial regulators, banks, security service providers and device manufacturers, these industry problems can surely be solved.