The secret service has issued a warning to banks and ATM companies about a new way that thieves can steal your credit card information . A report from Krebs on Security explains that “periscope” skimmers have been found inside teller machines in Connecticut and Pennsylvania in the last two months. Of course, since the devices attach to the internal mechanism, there’s absolutely no way for an end user to tell if they’re at risk. The report explains that ATMs with openable lids are the most at risk, since nefarious types can easily gain access inside. The “periscope” probe is installed in a pre-existing hole in the card reader to skim the magnetic stripe, while the other end contains a battery and storage unit. It’s believed that the device can store up to 32, 000 numbers and will last 14 days on a charge. What the gear can’t do, however, is harvest PINs, so it’s theorized that these devices were tests in preparation for a bigger heist. Krebs goes on to add that putting your hand over the cash dispenser’s number pad will defeat a large proportion of scammers with skimmers. Thieves who use pin-pad overlays — fake buttons over the real thing — are relatively rare because the hardware is expensive to reproduce. Krebs also advises users to avoid, wherever possible, standalone ATMs where the lid is easily accessible. Instead, people should favor cashpoints that are mounted in the wall, like those outside banks, and in well-lit areas. Source: Krebs on Security
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Thieves find an even more insidious way to swipe your PIN
According to The New York Times, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has been hacked and a password-protected archive of his personal emails has been published by DC Leaks. The Verge reports: DC Leaks is the same site that first published emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee, which many took as an explicit effort to influence the U.S. election process. Many experts in the U.S. intelligence apparatus have attributed that attack to the Russian government, although no public attribution has been made. Thus far, there’s no evidence tying Powell’s hack to Russia, and similar hacks have been carried out by mischievous teens without government affiliation. The immediate result of the hack has been political fallout for Powell himself. Last night, BuzzFeed News reported on an email in which Powell called Republican nominee Donald Trump a “national disgrace, ” and another in which he said the candidate was “in the process of destroying himself.” Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
