How to hack a Bank part 1?

This is going to be a very sensitive topic for the Banking industry, however I am not going to post any exploits or vulnerabilities of how to hack a bank, instead a high level overview of how to gain money from a bank. I am not going to write a long article on this as the story might go on and on.

Several months back, i was performing a penetration test for a large bank here. Although it was only a web penetration test, i was already starting to observe the banking environment, the technology used, the physical environment, their partners, ATM etc, to see if loopholes can discovered. Everyday at the bank, i made new friends and started talking to them to learn more about the banking environment and the job nature. At the end of the penetration test, I was thinking to publish an article of how to hack a bank, however, its either i am too lazy to do so or i can't be bothered. Today, I just feel like writing an article on it, just a sudden urge to do so.

In early days, the banking environment used to be a simple and closed environment whereby the only way to hack the bank is to rob the bank. There were no ATMs, no internet banking, no huge and complicated networks. To withdraw any money, the only way is to go to the bank's branch and fill up the withdraw form and provide your bank account passbook for updating purposes and the money is given to you. Mainframe is the backend system that does all the processing of the transactions, i think until this very day, it still prevails. Today, we are more advanced. We have internet banking without the need of any passbooks, we have ATMs, Credit and Debit cards, complex networks to interconnect multiple systems together, we have cash deposit machines, huge variations of databases and partners that might house the bank's data/information. So you see, it used to be maybe one or two doors opened. Today however, many possibilities are possible because of multiple doors being opened. We still have not factored in the physical site and environment. You might be surprise that this is one of the most easiest way to enter the bank.

A lot of people might think that hacking the bank is a tough job due to its tight security and controls, but you might be surprise that sometimes the weakest link is actually the easiest link. Stay tuned for part 2.

Disclaimer: The materials and information here are solely for educational purpose only. Do not attempt to hack a bank with knowledge acquired. Do not try at any bank.

The Hacka Man