AtmGuard

Stop Skimming Now !!!

	THE MISSION:     To develop and protect an apparatus. To license to others (assuming functionality) and get back to retirement. Reality check: There are many ways around the patent (use only part of the process), but there is a degree of protection by joining the effort with little risk or cost. One benefit is the combination of knowledge from many sources.     A mission for the banks is to persuade the manufacturers to provide an alarm apparatus to ATM owners at a reasonable cost. The Banking institution will need to unify its efforts to obtain better security for the customers' data. Perhaps a Banking Consortium similar to the 3DES encryption. Reality check: Note the consistency (or lack) between labels and the actual card readers. There are many examples of this throughout this website. If one bank cannot persuade the manufacture to provide solid support, then perhaps a unified effort is the only solution.     The patented apparatus will detect an intrusion intended to capture card and PIN information. The alarm will alert officials as to probable intrusion, or stop the machine if alarm fails. The principle is to monitor for unauthorized radio transmission and loss of ambient light. ATM lighting is normally important for security and operation. Multiple methods of light monitoring can assure flexibility for a variety of machines and ease of retrofitting. The main feature is that the patent offers full protection and future flexibility. An alternate to the light monitoring is found in another patent utilizing proximity sensors to detect unauthorized apparatus. Another good idea!!     A noble mission is to see all ATMs protected, even if not by this device, but it would require a unified effort, much like the triple DES encryption upgrade There are several idea packages available to support an ANTI-Skimming campaign. Several ideas are included in this website (fake camera, below). Ideas for ATM manufacturers can be demonstrated; combining efforts instead of competing can increase sales and security instead of allowing the criminal to come out the winner. The vulnerabilities of machines are not only specific to one or another manufacturer. The problem could be in the location (crash n drag) or in the installation (next to another device that could be monitoring the smart card data without touching the ATM, note the second and third image). Future Flexibility     Licensing is offered to manufacturers for a unified positive support against skimming. This can be accomplished by sharing solutions as vulnerabilities are discovered and shared across the board. One simple future adaptation can be a fuzzy logic alarm controller, which will monitor activities and learn to thwart illegal activities by the individual ATM guard programming, or by remotely upgrading the program via the 3DES channel. If ATM vulnerability is discovered, even in another country, the update will alert a similar machine to a defense (or alert the owner to a new vulnerability). The smart card (RFID) security has already been compromised by some college students and shown on the Today Show in December 2006. The right kind of RF detector could stop this intrusion on customer data.     A shiny label or glass insert to simulate a security camera could be a fraud reduction technique (the ATMs with security cameras are less likely to be attacked). A light monitor (alarm to tell if the real or fake video camera is covered) can be placed to protect the ATM without the cost associated with the real camera.