Banks carry out ATM revamp
Furquan Moharkan, DH News Service, Bengaluru, May 17 2017, 0:17 IST
Many ATMs were shut down to prevent any infection from the ransomware. file photo.
The ATM network across the country, which was partially affected following an advisory issued to banks by National Payments Corporation of India and the Reserve Bank of India in view of the WannaCry ransomware attack, is returning to normalcy.
A large number of ATMs were affected across the country including Bengaluru as banks resorted software upgradation to prevent any malware attack. The IT city witnessed partial suspension of ATM operations across banks, a large number of them were from SBI Group and HDFC Bank.
“We suspended our ATMs since Monday evening in order to upgrade the software as patches were sent across ATMs by our headquarters. All our ATMs will resume normal operations within a day or two,” an HDFC Bank official told DH.
Earlier on Tuesday, many ATMs throughout the banking sector were facing the issue of slower networks, due to the upgradation of the software. According to the latest data available with the RBI, there are 2,22,318 ATMs in the country including 14,121 white -abel ATMs. The white-label ATMs (WLA) allow non-banking companies to set up and run their own ATMs, under a pact with a sponsor bank and a network provider.
The maximum concentration of ATMs is in Maharashtra (25,711), Tamil Nadu (24,653), Uttar Pradesh (19,774), Karnataka (17,723) and Gujarat (11,982). The State Bank of India (SBI) leads the number of ATMs in India with 50,031 ATMs.
HDFC, which has the fourth largest network of ATMs in the country, had over 1,800 ATMs, whose network was down from Monday evening owing to the upgradation of software, according to a bank official. When contacted by DH, a senior official of the bank confirmed that “some” ATMs were not working due to upgradation, post the advisory issued by the RBI, though he declined to give the exact number.
Bengaluru-based Canara Bank said that all its ATMs, throughout the country have been patched and updated. “The network as of now is working normally,” D Kallu Rao, GM, Canara Bank said.
An official from Axis Bank, on condition of anonymity, said that all the ATMs of the bank were working normally, though the bank experienced a slower network on Monday evening. “At any given point of the time these days, on an average only 75% of the ATMs vend money, mostly owing to the paucity of cash in the economy,” the official added, saying that most of the ATMs have been patched.
Axis Bank has the second largest concentration of ATMs across the country, with 14,163 outlets. The official also denied any impact of the ransomware on ATMs. “The ransomware basically encrypts the data, but in case of ATMs, they only dispense the case and no data is stored there,” official added.
Bengaluru-based Canara Bank said that all its ATMs, throughout the country have been patched and updated. “The network as of now is working normally,” D Kallu Rao, General Manager, Canara Bank said.
AGS Transact Technology, an ATM manufacturer and ATM Suppliers in India, on its part cautioned the bank customers. “For end customers, we recommend that they undertake simple precautions like avoid opening emails or attachments from unknown sources as well as be wary of clicking unknown links and downloading or installing an unknown software. We also highly recommend updating an Antivirus software on all systems and performing regular backups of critical data in separate devices,” Mahesh Patel, President and Group Chief Technology Officer, AGS Transact Technologies said.