Researchers from the University of California in San Diego were able to “read” PIN combinations on an automated teller machine (ATM) from the residual finger-generated heat left on the buttons using an infra-red camera. A clever trick, but for the time being we probably don’t need to worry about it. Surely using that kind of bulky camera equipment around an ATM would arouse suspicion. And the camera that a would-be bank hacker would need to do the job properly comes with a wallet-busting $18,000 price tag. Long story short, it would probably be pretty easy to track the big-spending culprit down. One more shortcoming, the technique doesn’t work on ATMs with metal buttons, as they have too much stray heat. Still, electronics do have a way of getting smaller and cheaper, so one day we may all find ourselves hitting every button just to be safe once we are finished our transactions. Can you guess the code from the picture? Photo Credit: UCSD