Your ATM Could Turn Into "a One-Armed Bandit"

By Lowell Ponte

It might look like an Automatic Teller Machine, but the ATM where you withdraw or deposit your money might soon turn into a one-armed bandit able to steal your cash and your identity. Experts have called what might be about to happen an "Armageddon" and an "XP-ocalypse" with the potential to bring disaster to savers and our economy. The computer brains of 95 percent of the world's ATMs have been running Microsoft's old XP operating system. But as of April 8, Microsoft will no longer be fixing any holes that hackers discover in this software. If hackers find a way into your no-longer-protected ATM, they could do a LOT worse than just drain one of your bank accounts. [more...]