For the first time, outdated ATMs in India came handy to fight global malware WannaCry

Indian banks and ATMs are running on outdated systems, which are less sophisticated than what’s being used by their global counterparts. While this news on any other day would have made us angry, it has come as a saving grace amidst the hue and cry that global ransomware WannaCry has created, shutting down many operations across the world.

Neither the country’s apex bank, the Reserve Bank of India, nor any other leading bank has so far reported anything amiss in the Indian financial system. However, reports have come about one or two small banks in South India being affected, but even there the magnitude of the damage is not much.

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"We are closely monitoring the situation and have instructed the local IT teams of our bank to keep a watch on the systems in branches," a banker with the State Bank of India told ET. "In some cases, the malware comes from external devices interacting with the banking networks. We are keeping that under check too."

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The ransomware, known as Wannacry, has affected thousands of establishments across the globe, encrypting their data and asking for money to decrypt it.

"ATMs usually do not save any financial transaction data. Hence, I do not think that machines will be particularly vulnerable to such malware attacks, which encrypt files," said the CEO of an ATM manufacturing company.

Also, since ATM systems in India operate at a slower speed, the malware can be prevented from spreading.

(Image source Stock pictures)