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Hackers Steal Over ₹40 Lakh From ATMs In Odisha

They targeted low-security machines.
Faceless Computer Hacker
Getty Images/Moment RF
Faceless Computer Hacker

In the latest wave of cyber crime, over the past six weeks, criminals have stolen over ₹40 lakh from ATMs located in different towns in Odisha.

The thefts came to light on 4 March after ₹17.8 lakh was stolen from the Corporate Bank ATM in Cuttack. According to an Odisha,tv report, a new password had been generated in order to withdraw the money from the ATM.

"Primarily, it is a case of cyber crime and the miscreants have used some technology to access the servers of the ATM. From preliminary investigations it is suspected that these people are professionals," Cuttack DCP, Sanjeev Arora, told Odisha.tv.

According to a report in the New Indian Express, this wasn't the first such attack by the hackers. The police have found out that a similar theft of ₹7 lakh took place in the city on 24 February. And, on 23 February, ₹5 lakh was stolen in Puri employing the same modus operandi.

The report says that the hackers targeted low-security ATMs that had outdated software, running on the Windows XP operating system. They usually struck at night, opening the ATM with a fake key and rebooting the system using a USB drive.

The system was then detached from the server and cash withdrawn by using commands to deactivate the alarm.

"We have also instructed the banks and service providers to report such huge cash thefts on a real-time basis to police. Besides, they have been asked to upgrade all the operating systems to Windows 7 and above apart from strengthening the security firewalls," Police Commissioner YB Khurania told the New Indian Express.

Despite having an online monitoring system, the service provider for ATMs failed to detect the breaches.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.