White Paper on Skimming and Card Compromise Updated by ATM Security Association

The ATM Security Association just issued an updated version of its white paper on ATM card compromising techniques and countermeasures. The white paper “ATM skimming and card compromise modi-operandi and countermeasures” is the result of the ATM Security Association’s skimming working group with the scope to share knowledge of card data compromise attacks and available countermeasures. Its initial version was published earlier this year and was the first release by one of the four working groups the association had set up in 2015 to focus on different areas of ATM security.

The global cost of ATM skimming is estimated to be over $2 billion annually and continues to rise. The white paper provides valuable insights to ATM deployers and card issuers wondering about solutions to protect their cardholders. It offers an evaluation of different anti-skimming solutions. The paper comes to the conclusion that global ATM security industry standards, independent methods of evaluating countermeasures as well as a reliable, up-to-date source of information on the latest skimming techniques are required for effective protection against current and upcoming skimming threats. The strategic goal of the card payment industry must be to reduce the risk of successful skimming attacks. An important step toward that is removing the magnetic stripe from cards once the global migration to EMV has been completed.

The deliverables of the skimming and card compromise working group are continuously revised and updated. Furthermore, the group is working on a requirements document for anti-skimming and card compromise solutions with the objective to provide a tool for the evaluation of new ATM security technology or existing risk management strategies. The document including the key areas technology requirements, functional requirements and compliance will create the foundation for the next step, the definition of technology standards and an assessment methodology.

The latest version of the white paper “ATM skimming and card compromise modi-operandi and countermeasures” can be downloaded from the ATM Security Association’s website after registration: www.atmsecurityassociation.com/downloads/.