Virus hits Windows-based cashpoints

Cashpoints at two US banks have been infected by viruses, with similar breaches tipped to become more common. Automatic teller machines at two banks running Microsoft's popular Windows software were infected by a computer virus in August, the maker of the machines said on Monday. The ATM infections, first reported by SecurityFocus.com, are believed to be the first of a computer virus wiggling directly onto cash machines.

Computer security experts predicted more problems to come as Windows migrates to critical systems consumers rely on. An unknown number of ATMs running Windows XP Embedded were shut down during the spread of the so-called "Nachi'' worm, said officials at Diebold, which made the ATMs and refused to name the customers affected. The Nachi worm, also called "Welchia,'' was written to clean up after the MSBlast, or Blaster, worm. Instead it crippled or congested networks around the world, including the check-in system at Air Canada. Both worms spread through a hole in Windows XP, 2000, NT and Server 2003.

In January, the SQL Slammer worm led to technical problems that temporarily kept Bank of America's customers from their cash, but did not directly cause the ATM outage. "It's a harbinger of things to come,'' said Bruce Schneier, chief technical officer of network monitoring firm Counterpane Internet Security.

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