BANKING TERMINAL SECURITY
ATM & Terminal Security
Assessment
End-to-end security assessment of ATMs, ITMs, POS devices, payment kiosks, and self-service terminal ecosystems — from device hardening to transaction-layer exploitation.
Adversarial assessment of your entire terminal estate — ATMs, ITMs, countertop & mobile POS, smart terminals, SoftPOS, payment kiosks, and backend switch infrastructure — covering jackpotting, black-box attacks, kiosk breakout, switch manipulation, and lateral movement into core banking.

Our Approach

To conduct a comprehensive suite assessment, we utilize our proprietary Kiosk Assessment Framework. Aligned with compliance standards and governance requisites, this framework ensures an all-encompassing evaluation. It covers every facet of the deployment, commencing with Kiosk hardware, extending through applications, the Kiosk's operating system, communication protocols, integration channels, application servers, and the Kiosk Management service. This end-to-end appraisal guarantees a thorough understanding of your suite's strengths and areas for enhancement.

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Application Design Review

We conduct an exhaustive architecture review by delving into operational service requirements, application specifics, data processed, governance mandates, compliance prerequisites, internal system integrations, transport security controls, caching approaches, and the network deployment. Armed with this knowledge, our team constructs a comprehensive threat model. This model encapsulates the entire data flow from start to finish, encompassing security controls, stored and processed data, corresponding data classification, and potential threats. The outcome is a clear picture of the Kiosk ecosytem's  exposed threat landscape, potential compromise points, and vulnerabilities at the design phase.

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ATM OS Penetration Audit

Our approach involves conducting Manual Penetration Testing on the Kiosk's Operating System. This assessment method aligns with global standards like the PIN Transaction Standards (PCI-PTS), ATM Security Guidelines, and local Governance Guidelines. Our audit strategy combines automated and manual assessment techniques to thoroughly examine the configuration and deployment of the Kiosk's operating system. By doing so, we aim to uncover any potential gaps that could compromise the system's security.

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Terminal Client Penetration Testing

Our comprehensive security assessment covers all types of ATM client applications—be it thick client, thin client, web-based, or specialized solutions. Beyond reviewing operational workflows, we perform static analysis of binary executables for stand-alone applications and scrutinize server interactions for thin-client and web-based systems. We evaluate resilience against unauthorized code injection and DLL hijacking, investigate hardcoded secrets, and ensure that all sensitive data is encrypted. This holistic approach, tailored to your ATM application's specific architecture and features, provides your financial institution with unparalleled security assurance, ensuring both the robustness of the application and the safeguarding of sensitive data.

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Physical Security Assessment

Our penetration testers tackle a range of physical intrusion techniques employed by potential attackers including but not limited to, card skimming, keypad tampering, and unauthorized access to banknotes or bills bypassing lock protection measures. Our testing regime encompasses various evaluations, including Physical Intrusion Testing, Destructive Testing, Hardware I/O ports data implantation testing, Physical Access Authentication Control Testing, and several other critical assessments. These comprehensive testing methods ensure that your system is fortified against physical threats and vulnerabilities, offering you a robust defense against potential attacks.

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Assessment of Security Solutions

NetSentries offers expert guidance on optimizing the ATM application's operational environment, emphasizing a highly restricted setup with minimal services and processes in the backend. Our dedicated team conducts comprehensive onsite assessments, meticulously reviewing both logical and physical security configurations of the security solutions integrated within the Kiosks. This thorough evaluation ensures the implementation of robust measures for safeguarding your systems, providing the necessary protection to bolster your Kiosk's security posture.

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ATM Malware Discovery

NetSentries team conducts thorough and comprehensive analysis of your service, aimed at detecting any potential instances of malware that might have evaded cleanup efforts by an Anti-Malware solution. This process involves a range of activities, such as Malware Discovery Scanning, scrutinizing processes and network communications to identify anomalies, identifying malicious DLLs, performing reverse engineering on identified malware, and identifying Indicators of Compromise (IoCs). Through this specialized service, our goal is to offer your institution a comprehensive assessment of your deployment, leaving no stone unturned in our pursuit of security.

01
CASH & DISPENSE
ATM Systems
Security assessment of ATM ecosystems across lobby, through-the-wall, and drive-through deployments — covering cash dispensers, recycler ATMs, and next-gen machines with biometric and contactless interfaces.
Full lifecycle coverage — XFS/CEN-XFS command layer, dispense logic, cryptographic handling, and host protocol security
Real-world attack scenarios — jackpotting, black-box attacks, transaction reversal fraud, and middleware exploitation
Physical & logical — port exposure, top-hat access, skimmer detection gaps, and firmware integrity validation
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ATM ASSESSMENT SCOPE
Cash Dispensers & Recycler ATMs
XFS/CEN-XFS Command Exploitation
NDC/DDC Host Protocol Security
OS & Application Hardening (Windows/Linux)
Authentication & Cryptographic Controls
Physical Tamper & Port Exploitation
Firmware Integrity & Supply Chain Exposure
Biometric & Contactless Interface Security
XFS
CEN/XFS
NDC/DDC
PCI-DSS
PA-DSS
02
ALL FORM FACTORS
POS & Payment Terminals
Security assessment across the full spectrum of modern POS — countertop terminals, mPOS dongles, smart POS (Android/Linux), SoftPOS (Tap-on-Phone), unattended payment terminals, and integrated ECR systems.
Smart POS & Android terminals — app sideloading, privilege escalation, insecure storage, and payment app isolation
SoftPOS / Tap-on-Phone — kernel integrity, COTS device hardening, PIN-on-Glass, and attestation bypass
Traditional & mPOS — card data exposure, PIN block security, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi pairing, and memory scraping
Unattended terminals — fuel pumps, parking, transit, and vending — kiosk breakout, tamper detection, and remote exploit paths
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POS DEVICE LANDSCAPE
Countertop POS & PIN Pads
Traditional
Smart POS (Android / Linux)
Next-Gen
mPOS & Card Readers
Mobile
SoftPOS / Tap-on-Phone
COTS
Unattended Payment Terminals
Self-Service
PCI PTS
EMV
P2PE
NFC
SOFTPOS
03
VIDEO & ASSISTED BANKING
Interactive Teller Machines & Assisted Self-Service
Security assessment of ITMs and video-enabled assisted banking terminals — machines that combine ATM functionality with live teller interaction, handling high-value transactions, account services, and identity verification.
Video conferencing channel — session hijacking, eavesdropping, stream injection, and teller impersonation risks
Extended transaction surface — loan disbursements, account opening, cheque imaging, and card issuance workflows
Identity verification bypass — biometric spoofing, ID scanner manipulation, and OTP relay attacks
Dual-control exploitation — teller override abuse, remote authorization flaws, and privilege boundary testing
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ITM ATTACK SURFACE
Video Teller Session Security
Biometric & ID Verification Controls
Card Issuance & Instant Print Security
Cheque Imaging & Deposit Validation
Remote Teller Override & Authorization
Account Opening & KYC Workflows
ITM
VTM
VIDEO BANKING
EKYC
BIOMETRIC
04
KIOSK ECOSYSTEM
Self-Service & Payment Kiosks
Assessment of the full spectrum of banking and payment kiosks — cash recyclers, bill payment terminals, cheque deposit machines, passbook printers, currency exchange kiosks, account opening stations, and multi-function self-service units.
Kiosk breakout — escaping restricted UI shells to access underlying OS, file system, and admin tools
Cash handling & deposit logic — denomination manipulation, deposit validation bypass, and recycler cassette abuse
XFS command exploitation — direct dispense, sensor spoofing, and peripheral command injection
Payment kiosk fraud — bill payment redirection, receipt forgery, and transaction replay on unattended devices
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KIOSK TYPES COVERED
Cash Recyclers & Deposit Machines
Jackpotting
Bill Payment & Top-Up Kiosks
Fraud
Cheque Deposit & Passbook Printers
Tamper
Account Opening & KYC Kiosks
Identity
Currency Exchange & Multi-Function Units
Breakout
05
TRANSACTION LAYER
Switch & Transaction Processing
Security assessment of payment switches and transaction processing infrastructure — the backbone routing authorization requests between terminals, acquirers, card networks, and digital payment rails.
ISO 8583 message integrity — field manipulation, replay attacks, response code tampering, and partial reversal abuse
Switch logic exploitation — transaction routing flaws, stand-in processing abuse, and cutover / fallback risks
HSM & key management — cryptographic key lifecycle, PIN translation, DUKPT derivation, and key injection exposure
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PROCESSING SCOPE
ISO 8583 Message Parsing & Validation
Authorization & Routing Logic
Stand-In & Fallback Processing
HSM Integration & Key Lifecycle
Settlement & Reconciliation Logic
Replay, Reversal & Response Manipulation
ISO 8583
HSM
DUKPT
3DES/AES
TR-31
06
INFRASTRUCTURE & MANAGEMENT
Terminal Network Infrastructure & TMS
Assessment of the network and management layer connecting your entire terminal fleet to core banking — covering segmentation, remote access, TMS platforms, and lateral movement paths from terminal VLANs into sensitive backend systems.
Network segmentation — VLAN isolation, firewall rules, and terminal-to-core boundary validation
TMS exploitation — fleet-wide software push abuse, admin console compromise, and configuration tampering
Remote access surface — VPN, RDP/SSH exposure, vendor maintenance channels, and cloud management consoles
Lateral movement — pivot scenarios from compromised terminals into switch, TMS, HSM, and core banking systems
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INFRASTRUCTURE & TMS SCOPE
TMS Fleet-Wide Software Push
Critical
Admin Console & Config Tampering
High
Terminal VLAN Segmentation
Network
Lateral Movement to Core Banking
Pivot
Vendor & Cloud Management Channels
Remote
VLAN
VPN
TMS
FIREWALL
ACL
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