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IMF The Most Recent Cyber Hacking Victim, Data Loss Said to Be LargeJun 13, 2011 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) experienced a "large and sophisticated" cyberattack over the last several months, first reported Saturday by The New York Times. The fund informed its employees and board of directors on Wednesday, but did not make a public announcement. Multiple senior officials with knowledge of the attack said it was sophisticated and serious. "This was a very major breach," said one official, who also said it had occurred over the last several months, before the IMF's Managing Director Dominique, Strauss-Kahn, was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a housekeeper and forced to resign. The hack resulted in the loss of a "large quantity" of data, which included documents and e-mails, according to a security expert familiar with the incident who declined to be indentified because he wasn't authorized to speak on the subject. The person said the attack was "state-based," but did not say what government is thought to be behind the hack. A recent email from the fund's chief information officer, Jonathan Palmer, cautioned employees of "increased phishing activity," in which user names and passwords were sought. The email instructed employees how to detect and respond to these attempts, and stated, "Staff are strongly requested NOT TO OPEN e-mails and video links without authenticating the source." The IMF's network connection to the World Bank was temporarily severed as a precaution, but it has since been restored. Write to Chip Brian at [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SmarTrend analyzes over 5,000 securities simultaneously throughout the trading day and provides its subscribers with trend change alerts in real time. To get a free trial of our trading calls and maximize your trading results, please visit http://www.MySmarTrend.com Get exclusive, actionable insight into how the market is expected to trend prior to market open with our free morning newsletter. Sign up at: http://www.MySmarTrend.com/signup |