ATM Industry Association Asia Pacific

04/27/2009

PINGuard™ - ATM PIN Protection Device launched in Australia

Sydney, Australia, April , 2009 –

To combat skimming, acknowledged as a major threat to financial services, Australian Technology Management Pty Ltd has announced the launch of PINGuard™.

PINGuard™ is a recently developed ATM security solution designed to counter ATM skimming fraud and in particular protect ATM users from PIN (Personal Identification Number) theft. It does so by the use of a polarising lens which restricts the field of view around the PIN pad to prevent shoulder surfing and spy cameras. With five variations of the PINGuard™, it has been designed to fit all ATM models.

In a report published on December 30th 2008, the European Payments Council recommended a series of measures to deter skimming at ATMs. One of which was the recommendation to install Keypad Privacy Shields at ATMs to conceal PINs as they were being entered.

The launch of the PINGuard™ co-incides with reports pointing to a rise in ATM skimming attacks worldwide. Cases have been reported in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Africa, Russia, the Middle East and Europe. A security report produced by the European ATM Security Team (EAST) outlined that ATM fraud and attacks in Europe jumped 149 percent during 2008. According to EAST, the surge in ATM related fraud is linked primarily to a 129 percent increase in ATM-skimming attacks.

According to Celent (Boston, Mass.), total skimming losses account for about USD $1.2 billion a year worldwide.

“Australian Technology Management fully supports the efforts of the ATMIA in combating ATM related fraud” explained Director, George Athanasakis. “As ATMs continue their expansion across the globe, so does the need to further educate ATM cardholders in fraud prevention and awareness and subsequently enhance cardholder faith in the ATM channel. Our hope, our vision is that with continued cardholder education, collaboration from all stakeholders within the ATM industry and the application of emerging technologies, the threat that is ATM card skimming will be severely curtailed, preferably eradicated.”

“ATMIA has set up an Anti Skimming Forum because it views skimming as a serious global threat. We support technology solutions, such as PINGuard, global information sharing, industry collaboration and liaison with law enforcement services to combat this type of fraud. ” commented Mike Lee, ATMIA’s CEO.

For more information, please contact Mike Lee at mike@atmia.com.

About Australian Technology Management
www.atmgroup.net.au
Australian Technology Management is an independent ATM services provider based in Sydney, Australia. It currently provides products and services to domestic and international clients and has evolved into a provider and consolidator of state-of-the-art ATM security solutions. Its services include ATM sales, service, security, ATM refurbishment and tailored ATM training programs. Australian Technology Management is a member of the Automatic Teller Machine Industry Association (ATMIA) and is an Australian Master Security Licence holder.

About ATMIA
www.atmia.com
The ATM Industry Association is a global non-profit trade association with over 1,050 members in 50 countries. Its mission is to promote ATM convenience, growth and usage worldwide, protect the ATM industry's assets, interests, good name and public trust; and provide education, best practices, political voice and networking opportunities for member organizations. In June 2003, ATMIA established the Global ATM Security Alliance (GASA) (www.globalasa.com) with the mission to employ global security resources in a united alliance in order to protect the ATM industry from criminal activity.