Hacking into an ATM is nothing new and in the past, we’ve seen and heard about all sorts of hi-tech wizardry involved in trying to trick the ATM into dispensing money, but it seems that perhaps all those hi-tech gadgets might not have been necessary, and all a thief would need is the ATM manual.
Perhaps that isn’t entirely accurate, but it is what happened when a pair of 14-year old boys downloaded an ATM manual and managed to “hack” a Bank of Montreal ATM. According to the Winnipeg Sun, the pair found an old manual for the ATM online which showed them how to access the ATM’s operator mode, and on a lark they decided to see if it worked.
When prompted for a password, they tried the default password and to their surprise, it worked. They tried to inform the bank’s staff of the security breach but they did not believe them, and it was only after showing proof, such as changing the surcharge amount to 1 cent and changing the ATM’s default greeting to, “Go away. This ATM has been hacked.” were they taken seriously.
In a statement released by the bank’s director of media relations, Ralph Marranca, “Customer information and accounts and the contents of the ATM were never at risk and are secure.” As for the boys, they were given a note by the bank’s financial services coordinator explaining their tardiness to their school.