NSA scientist at Black Hat - low in details, high in humor

Las Vegas (NV) - Technical presentations are common and expected at Defcon, the annual computer security conference in Las Vegas, but once in a while, presentations go astray. At the ATM Network Vulnerabilities presentation by Robert Morris Sr., former Chief Scientist of the NSA, the crowds were expecting inside information, but were taken down a humorous road, with common-sense tips, but little detail about ATM networks.

The talk started on the right track with Morris describing how ATM’s connect to each other. With each transaction, the ATM contacts the bank that issued the ATM card. With the crowd sitting on the edge of their seats, awaiting secret hacking tips into the global banking network, Morris changed the subject into talking about common-sense tips for security.

Watch out for people looking over your shoulder, who may be watching you type in the PIN number. In addition, Morris said that forklifts can easily steal a machine, which can then be broken into with an acetylene torch.

Beware of ATM machines in strange places, or new machines that you haven’t seen before. This advice may seem like common sense, but Morris gave additional shocking information. People are apparently buying ATM machines from eBay, modifying the software and installing them into public locations. Morris has seen ATM machines sold on eBay for as low as $1000. He challenged the crowd to search for ATM machines on their own, after the talk.

On a trip to Europe, Morris ran into trouble with one bank’s ATM machine. The machine had taken his card, without giving money or the card back. Morris called the police and threatened to destroy the machine with a fire axe, if the bank did not return the card. The bank relented and returned Morris’ ATM card.

Like soldiers obeying an order, some attendees searched eBay and found more than 40 ATM machines for sale, for about $2000 and up.

"I’m happy that someone followed my advice," said Morris.