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UK's ATM Security Working Group could serve as model for U.S.

Alan Townsend, the London police detective who helped create an ATM Security Working Group with a number of the UK's top independent ATM deployers, says a similar model could work in the States. Townsend will speak at an all-day security workshop that will kick off the 'ATMs in the Americas' conference in Miami on March 4.

February 18, 2003

Alan Townsend has heard all of the arguments about the difficulties of getting ISOs in the United States to work together on solving a problem.

There are too many of them. They are suspicious of each other's motives. They are reluctant to share any information with each other. Good luck getting a consensus on anything.

But Townsend faced at least some of the same issues in the UK when he established an ATM Security Working Group (ATMSWG) there in July of 2001.

"They told me I wouldn't succeed because the IADs (independent ATM deployers, the British term for ISOs) wouldn't talk to each other," said Townsend, a detective constable with the Flying Squad, an elite, rapid-response unit ofLondon's Metropolitan Policethat specializes in thwarting armed robberies.

However, Townsend said, "It's amazing how people pull together when security is the primary objective. I find that you can overcome all of the commercial issues when you're talking about how you can better protect your property."

The detective created the ATMSWG after speaking at a June 2001 security conference in London sponsored by theATM Industry Association (ATMIA).

Filling a need

"At that time IADs did not have a forum at which they could share security information or intelligence -- unlike the banks, building societies and cash carriers -- or a joint voice with which to approach police, agencies and associations," Townsend said. "At the ATMIA conference I offered the IADs the opportunity of forming a working group to fulfill this concept, and the response was overwhelming."

Indeed, the group's 11 founding members were a diverse group, including IADs; financial institutions; theAssociation of British Insurers; theBritish Bankers' Association;theAssociation for Payment Clearing Services (APACS);ATMIA; andLINK, the UK's national ATM network.

It was the first time, Townsend said, that IADs had been formally recognized by the UK's financial institutions. "From the IADs' point of view, I think it was important for them to get that recognition," he said. It's also valuable for them to have a "joint voice" with associations such as APACS.

The IADs and the banks have learned from each other, he said. For instance, they've compared notes on the different cash replenishment models -- merchant and cash-in-transit -- and their resulting security needs.

"No one group or person has a monopoly of information on security. Everyone has something to contribute," Townsend said.

On the grow

In its first year-and-a-half, the group doubled its membership and established an Associates Group for more than 200 related companies and police forces that are interested in ATMSWG activities. Members of the Associates Group receive minutes of quarterly meetings, as well as other information. They also can send promotional materials or -- in the case of police -- information on crime trends to ATMSWG members.

ATMSWG members report attacks on their ATMs to Townsend, who compiles the data and maintains a secure database that he said is useful in identifying criminal patterns. For instance, 28 percent of the UK's "ram raid" incidents in 2002 occurred in one geographic area, Yorkshire. Townsend said that ATMSWG members are working closely with three police forces to catch the perpetrators, whom they believe may be members of a gang.

The ATMSWG in September produced a set of recommended security guidelines for stand-alone ATMs that were distributed to retailers and others by the group's 22 members, trade associations and the police. The guidelines have also been widely reproduced in trade and security publications, Townsend said.

Numbers don't lie

Perhaps the group's strongest indicator of success is a 7.45 percent reduction in thefts at non-bank ATMs, from 161 incidents in 2001 to 149 in 2002. This despite a huge increase in the number of independent ATMs in the same period, from 5,895 in December of 2001 to 9,264 a year later.

The reduction is "remarkable," Townsend said, noting that he experienced similar results when he formed security groups for UK travel agents (who were theft targets because of bureaux d'exchange located in their offices) in 1999 and for independent jewelry retailers in 2000.

The jewelers were "set in their ways," Townsend said. "But they accepted us with open arms because, unlike the chain stores, they didn't have the benefit of a huge security infrastructure to support them."

Police-led groups in the UK have a record of success because the police are considered a trusted third party, Townsend said. But he believes the model could work elsewhere, coordinated perhaps by an association like the ATMIA.

ATMIA International Director Mike Lee invited Townsend as the keynote speaker for an all-day security workshop that will kick off the "ATMs in the Americas" conference in Miami on March 4. The workshop is modeled on two successful ATMIA-sponsored security conferences in London.

"We believe in sharing success stories across the industry so that other countries can benefit from them," Lee said. "The aim is to promote best practice around the world."

This is especially important, Lee said, as ATM crime -- particularly card fraud -- becomes more global.

 "Naturally, models have to be adapted to local conditions and you can never transplant them without changes," Lee added. "However, we will transplant any successful model from any country to any other country that might be looking for inspiration, guidance and practical help in the fight against ATM crime."

Included In This Story

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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