Cash Is King

Nearly forty years since the installation of the first cash-dispensing machine, it is hard for most of us to imagine life without this convenience. While it has been estimated that 85 percent of the cash in circulation today is easily withdrawn from ATMs, there is a chain reaction of activity behind the scenes, in order to provide for its safekeeping.

The unique challenge of securing cash vaults in the U.S. characteristically requires shared access among several companies. This typically consists of those responsible for the delivery of cash and pulling deposits, as well as those providing 1st or 2nd line maintenance on the machine. Additionally, for ATMs located at the bank as opposed to off-premises, branch employees may also require entry to the vault during certain hours.

As recently as ten years ago, the primary source of security for the ATM cash vault was a mechanical spin-dial lock. While these locks had performed well for many years, they ultimately exposed weaknesses in the overall security chain. All parties requiring access to a particular machine were issued the same combination or key, providing no evidence of who gained entry or when services were initiated and completed. In addition, the need to constantly change combinations after an employee left a company proved time-consuming and costly. The combination was often kept indefinitely, creating an even greater risk of theft by any former employee.

Without records of who was accessing the cash, losses due to insider theft mounted rapidly. Since several groups all held the combination for the same ATM, the loss would be split, thus the insurance rates of all parties involved increased. Those responsible for the cash began demanding another solution, one that would easily replace existing mechanical locks and combine physical security with accountability, while at the same time eliminating costly combination changes.

In 1995, Kaba Mas introduced the Cencon System 2000. This high-security electronic lock, with the use of its software-generated one-time access combinations and Smart Keys, enabled shared access users to establish control of who was able to service the machine. The duel token requirement of the technician’s personal electronic key plus the unique code only valid for the next opening of that particular lock revolutionized the ATM servicing industry.

No longer would there be confusion as to when and to whom vault access was given. Three locations; the lock, the key, and the software, each make record of the time, date, user, and activity. The inescapable audit trail of the Cencon System 2000 has helped prosecute countless employees who had grown accustomed to skimming bills anonymously from ATMs locked by traditional methods. For each person opening Cencon locks to get to the cash vaults, the fear of being caught continues to deter theft and prevents billions of dollars of losses annually.

One major reason for the global success of Cencon grew from an advanced design that first created by Kaba Mas in the early 1990s - the self-powered PowerStar® technology. The U.S. government issued a specification that any container holding classified documents must use a tamper-proof lock having 1 million true possible combinations and no need of line power or batteries. Domestic and international spies had learned too easily how to manipulate mechanical spin-dial locks that were intended to protect our nation’s secrets. By carrying the breakthrough PowerStar generator used with these government locks into the Cencon product, ATM service personnel create enough energy to see a user-friendly LCD and retract the lock bolt by a few simple turns of the dial. No worries exist of either inaccessible cash from local power outages or requirements to visit the ATM to change batteries.

The top Cash In Transit (CIT) organizations, ATM maintenance companies, and financial institutions in the world continue to insist on using the Cencon System 2000. Consider these contributing factors:

- After closing the container and extending the lock bolt, the user presents the Smart Key to the lock once again. A close record is stamped in the audit log of the lock and the key, and, to update the software of the ATM’s secure status, a 2-digit Close Seal is read from the lock’s LCD, and then called into the dispatcher. Alternatively, by having the key read at a software site, multiple close seals can automatically update the call status.

- Cencon successfully meets the unique challenge of shared access. Three different groups can control access to the same lock from their own software. Simply said, Cencon is 3 locks in 1. Once each mode is activated, the companies no longer need to meet at the ATM. The lock audit displays all openings and which mode was associated with each record.

- After more than a decade of use in the field, the Cencon System 2000 has shown proven durability. While the life cycle of an ATM may be a few years, many of the original Cencon locks installed in 1995 are still in operation today, allowing easy transfer from machine to machine. Cencon is popular for retrofitting existing ATMs because it fits the standard footprint of mechanical locks. Furthermore, users trust the reliable, secure software that has withstood the test of time.

- Cencon is compatible with existing alarm systems and offers a simple cable connection for monitoring the lock bolt status, for sending a silent duress code during a lock opening, and for arming and disarming with each valid opening sequence.

- If a user prefers not to use live dispatchers at the PC for dispatching and closing calls, Kaba Mas offers customers the ability to use their 3rd party dispatching software with our CenTran software to interact with the Cencon files. Many customers decide to have the field technicians call into an automated phone system (i.e., IVR), and, after verifying credentials, generate their own needed opening codes or enter close seals to meet practically all their daily needs.

- By using the Cencon lock, a user has mandated a certain level of security, far superior to any mechanical spin-dial lock. Beyond that point of the administrative requirements structured within the lock and software, the user has the flexibility to determine the additional optional levels of security with which they will configure the Cencon system. For instance, they may decide to use dual mode (i.e., two person integrity), Bank mode allowing access via Smart Key plus a repeatable user pin, user time windows, time delay, customer or geographic region separation, password requirements, or a variety of other choices to adapt the access parameters to the specific needs.

Today, ATM service companies worldwide, the largest to the smallest, have relied on the Central Control that the Cencon System 2000 provides. The ability to monitor and authorize access to thousands of locks from one stand-alone PC sparked the interest of many of the pioneers in the Armored Courier and ATM manufacturing segments. Furthermore, as their needs change, users now rely on dispatching and administering the ATMs from a network of terminals using the latest Cencon 2 software along with a Database Management Software (DBMS) such as Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle.

Kaba Mas is dedicated to ongoing development within the Cencon product range. As an example of innovation in use, a large convenience retailer, synonymous across the globe with using the latest in technology to meet specific customer needs, partnered with an ATM manufacturer to create the multi-function kiosk. Apart from the normal cash dispensing and check scanning, this machine allows users to print money orders, deposit coins, pay bills on-line, and a variety of other services. With this advanced ATM came the requirement to secure not just the cash vault, but also several compartments within the container. Rather than dispatching combinations to 3 or 4 separate Cencon locks protecting each component, Kaba Mas was asked to develop a set of subordinate locking devices that could be used in conjunction with one “Master Cencon lock” to control access to the entire unit. The resulting Sub-lock System provided the ability for a dispatcher to choose with each issuing of the 6-digit combination what access was granted for any or all of up to 5 separately auditable locks. The 4-digit close seal communicated to the dispatcher all the details of the operation: which of the 5 locks were opened, which were closed afterwards, and, if which locks were not given authorization to open but the user attempted to open anyway.

To find out more about why the Cencon System 2000 has become the most preferred method of securing ATM cash vaults across the globe, please visit us at www.Kaba-Mas.com, or feel free to ask your local ATM service provider.