According to the BBC…..

Ramblings / October 29, 2004 / John / 0

“Cash machine networks could soon be more susceptible to computer viruses, a security firm has warned.

The warning is being issued because many banks are starting to use the Windows operating system in machines.”



Well, no surprises there. It begs the question – why do ATMs need to run a windowing system? There was no problem with the old OS/2 machines because they ran in single tasking text mode, so the only thing the banks had to worry about was the robustness of the ATM software itself. Running on Windows is a different matter because it’s a much more complex beast. As well as worrying about the ATM software the banks now have to think about the connectivity, the shoddily written operating system, and the security of not just the ATM itself but the (undoubtedly) windows server it’s networked to.

All this to have pretty pictures on screen that do nothing except slow down the transaction.

John

UNIX geek, wannabe cook, musician, book-lover, and all round good-guy.