Bitcoin ATMs are dangerously insecure, Kraken Security reports

The cure must be implemented both in hardware and software 01.Oct.21 8:51 AM By Shawn Highstraw Photo General Bytes    382

Kraken Security Labs, the security branch of the US cryptocurrency-exchange Kraken, reports that a large number of Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs are vulnerable to security issues. That reveals the crypto exchange on September 29th. Kraken reports in a blog post that his security team encountered “multiple hardware and software vulnerabilities” in the bitcoin ATMs, or BATMS, of General Bytes. The team found vulnerabilities in the QR code, in the Android operating software, in the ATM management system, and even in the device enclosure. In addition, Kraken reports that many of these BATMS are configured with the same standard QR codes for all administrators. This means that anyone with this QR code can walk to a BATM of General Bytes and get access to administrative functions. There is also a lack of Safe Start-up mechanisms, Kraken reports. General Bytes is the second-largest manufacturer of BATM in the world, according to Coin ATM Radar. The company has a whopping 6,391 bitcoin ATMs in the world, with which the company controls about 22.7% of the market. Most of them are in the United States. It is specifically the BATMtwo (GBBATM2) machines that contain multiple vulnerabilities. Kraken reports that it had already contacted General Bytes about this in April. General Bytes then released several patches, but according to Kraken some vulnerabilities may require hardware modifications.

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