• General Bytes, the largest cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) manufacturer, experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18.
• The breach allowed the hacker to liquidate 56.28 bitcoins, worth approximately $1.5 million, from about 15-20 crypto ATM operators nationwide.
• U.S.-based crypto ATM operators were forced to temporarily shut down after the attack was discovered.
General Bytes Experienced Security Incident
General Bytes, the largest manufacturer of cryptocurrency automated teller machines (ATMs), experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18 that enabled a hacker to remotely access the master service interface and send funds from hot wallets. This breach forced U.S.-based crypto ATM operators to temporarily shut down until further notice.
Hacker Liquidated Over $1.5M From Crypto ATMs
The hacker was able to liquidate 56.28 bitcoins, worth approximately $1.5 million, from about 15-20 crypto ATM operators nationwide as a result of this breach in security protocols at General Bytes‘. According to Coin ATM Radar statistics, General Byte’s has produced 9,505 such machines globally with thousands located in the United States alone..
Security Bulletin Released by General Bytes
General Bytes released a statement urging customers to take immediate action to protect their personal information after learning of this attack against its systems on Saturday afternoon (ET). The firm’s security bulletin stated that the attacker was able to remotely upload their own Java application using the master service interface which is typically used by terminals for uploading videos and gaining user privileges including access to databases and API keys used for accessing funds in hot wallets and exchanges as well as downloading usernames and decrypting password hashes along with turning off 2FA before sending funds from hot wallets..
U.S.-Based Crypto ATM Operators Shut Down Temporarily
Following notification of this attack against General Byte’s systems on Saturday afternoon (ET), U.S.-based crypto ATM operator speaking with Bitcoin News confirmed all operators using General Byte’s machines were shut down nationwide while servers were rebuilt from ground up which can be an lengthy process accordinglty . In response General bytes is transitioning all it’s clients over self hosted servers instead of cloud based services due to discontinuation of cloud service according ot it’s latest security bulletin..
Conclusion
In conclusion , due to this recent security incident involving general bytes many US based crypto atm operators had been forced temporarily shutdown until further notice following discovery of hackers ability liquidate over 1$M worth bitcoin fron multiple sources . As result general bytes has announced transition towards self hosted servers instead of cloud based solutions moving forward .