News

Note-staining kit a 'game-changing' defense in ATM explosive attacks

March 24, 2017

TMD Security has expanded its solution portfolio with the release of the TMD Security Note Staining Kit, the company has announced in a press release.

The NSK product results from R&D investment by TMD, as well as its acquisition of the technology and products of Secure Banking Technology, a South African company.

SBT founder Mike Robson developed the note staining kit in response to a growing problem of ATM gas and solid explosive attacks; with its implementation the number of these attacks fell dramatically, the release said.

Ink staining neutralizes the value of notes inside an ATM under attack by "spoiling the prize." However, previous ink-staining systems were not effective in an explosive attack because the blast destroyed them before they could activate.

With the TMD Security NSK, the ink canisters fracture instantly upon explosive impact, staining 100 percent of the notes in the ATM — whether cotton- or polymer-based. And importantly, NSK shockwave technology does not rely on detection, so there is no risk of false activations, the release said.

"ATM explosions result in cash losses and serious collateral damage," TMD founder Cees Heuker of Hoek said in the release. "Most importantly, they are a significant risk to human life. The industry has been going in the wrong direction, introducing stronger safes, because criminals use more and more explosives and the risk to human lives becomes even greater. NSK changes the rules."

TMD currently is working with ATM manufacturers to make NSK available for all major ATM brands and cassette types, the release said.