The ATM Industry Association has published a best-practices guide for decommissioning ATMs at the end of their seven- to 10-year lifespan.
The manual, part of the association’s security best-practice series for ATMs, addresses risk scenarios machine owners should consider, the association said in an April 11 press release.
“We want to avoid situations where an ATM ends up on eBay or in the hands of a criminal who can perform reverse engineering on the machine,” Mike Lee, association CEO, said in the release.
The guide covers best practices for protecting consumer data, handling secondhand machines properly and dealing with liability issues that come up with the disposal of ATMs.
The risk to ATMs appears greatest in four situations, Lee said in an e-mail response to questions from PaymentsSource. Those instances occur when ATMs are relocated from one spot to another, moved to a warehouse, removed for destruction, or go out-of-service but remain in place.
ATM owners and deployers should use secure transportation and not leave the machines unattended, Lee advised. They also should keep ATMs in secure storage facilities and not delay their disposal, he added.
“Implementation of these best practices will add another layer of protection around the ATM industry,” Lee said. “We estimated about 100,000 ATMs will be decommissioned worldwide each year.”
What do you think about this? Send us your feedback.
