GEORGE TOWN, Oct 9 — A bank in Bayan Baru here became the latest target in a spate of ATM hackings nationwide, after the failed attack was revealed in a surveillance footage.

The bank was conducting routine check of its close-circuit camera (CCTV) footage when it noticed a man, believed to be a foreigner, attempting to hack into the ATM.

Penang Police Chief Datuk Wira Abdul Rahim Hanafi confirmed that the bank management immediately lodged a police report and that the police had opened an investigation paper into the case.

“The incident happened on September 25 but the suspect failed in his attempt to hack the ATM,” he told reporters after visiting the Lorong Kulit flea market here this morning.

The CCTV recording showed, sometime between 11.50pm on September 24 and 12.20am on September 25, two foreign-looking men opening the top portion of the ATM and tried to do something to it.

However, the men closed the portion after failing to hack into the machine and left.

Abdul Rahim said the police will try to identify and trace the suspects based on the CCTV footage.

This incident followed several hacking activities on ATMs in the Klang Valley recently, which led to the launch of “Ops Albatross” by the police.

The police had also released photos of the suspects, believed to be Latin Americans, and the police believed the modus operandi used in these activities include inserting malware into the ATMs.