--- title: "Hacker Figures out How to Drain $1 Million in Cash From ATM" description: "A programmer at a Chinese bank found a flaw in the institution's software that let him extract about $1 million from its ATMs." date: "2019-02-07" modified: "2019-02-07" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hacker-drain-1-million-cash-atm" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "banking" - "china" - "security" - "the digest" --- # Hacker Figures out How to Drain $1 Million in Cash From ATM ![A programmer at a Chinese bank found a flaw in the institution's software that let him extract about $1 million from its ATMs.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Bank Note A programmer at a Chinese bank discovered a flaw in the institution's software that let him drain the equivalent of $1 million from its ATMs over the course of about a year. That's [according to Hong Kong newspaper]() the *South China Morning Post*, which reports that coder Qin Qisheng's employers at Huaxia Bank believed his explanation that he was just investigating its security system — but authorities didn't and now he's headed to prison. ## ATM Heist Qin reportedly discovered a flaw in the bank's ATM code that kept it from recording withdrawals made around midnight. He then added scripts to the system that prevented it from triggering an alert when he withdrew money. In total, [according to the *Daily Economic News*](), he made 1,358 late-night withdrawals. When Qin got busted, his excuse was that he had been investigating security flaws in the bank's system. His bank bought the explanation, but police didn't. "Qin Qisheng said that the matter was complicated and involved lots of work," a Huaxia representative said during the trial, according to the *SCMP*. "He believed the bank would not pay attention even if he reported it." ## Hard Time The bank might have believed Qin's explanation that he was trying to buff up its security, but a court sentenced him to 10 and a half years in prison in December, according to the *SCMP —* a ruling upheld by an appeal court. "After reviewing the papers, speaking to the appellant and listening to the opinions of the defenders, we believed that the facts of the case were clear and decided not to have another trial," the court said, according to the *SCMP*. **READ MORE:** [Chinese Bank’s Software Chief Jailed After Finding Way to Withdraw US$1m in ‘Free’ Cash From ATMs]() \[*South China Morning Post*\] ***More on banking:*** [Facebook Is Asking Banks to Share Data on Customers' Spending Habits]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()