The IMF is reportedly reluctant to disclose where it believes the attacks came from since 187 of the world’s 194 nations (as recognized by the U.S. Department of State) are members of the fund. The hack’s perpetrators obtained a “large quantity of data,” including e-mail and other documents during the intrusion, according to Bloomberg.
The IMF provides, among other functions, economic assistance and policy advice to nations in financial distress to help stabilize the global economy. That means the global agency has, as The New York Times recently reported, “highly confidential information about the fiscal condition of many nations.” As such, the IMF’s files contain “political dynamite” that could affect global markets, according to the Times. It’s not clear if the data stolen from the IMF was particularly sensitive.
Spear Phishing
How hackers were able to penetrate the IMF’s network is still unknown. But it appears the intrusion may have been the result of a spear phishing attack. This kind of attack typically works by tricking an employee into clicking on a link to a malicious website or downloading a file loaded with malware.
The IMF is not alone in falling victim to an online hack. In fact, the agency is just the latest in a string of high-profile attacks against corporations and organizations such as Google, Sony, Lockheed Martin, RSA Security, and CitiGroup. Here’s a look at other high profile online break-ins and foiled attacks that are turning 2011 into the Year of the Malicious Hacker.
CitiHack
The malicious hackers were able to get away with cardholders’ names, account numbers, and contact information such as e-mail addresses.
Google Spars With China
Google isn’t certain (or saying) how the attacks were carried out, but suspects that spear phishing played a role. The search giant says its internal systems were not affected by the attacks, and secured the accounts of all those affected by the attacks. China denies having any role in the Gmail hacks.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin, a major defense contractor for the U.S. government, in late May detected an intrusion into its servers.
RSA (In)SecurID
But EMC was confident the stolen data would not “enable a successful direct attack on any of our RSA SecurID customers.” The company reversed course in early June after it was revealed the SecurID hack was related to the Lockheed Martin break-in.
RSA’s “extremely sophisticated cyber attack” later turned out to be the result of a “low-profile” user downloading a malicious Excel spreadsheet via email.
Epsilon’s Lost Address Book
In April, Epsilon, the world’s largest permission-based e-mail marketer, said its servers had been compromised exposing many people’s real names and e-mail addresses.
The hack exposed the customer databases for many major companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Marriott Rewards, US Bank, Citigroup, and Walgreens.
Sony’s Never-Ending Story
If you were the victim of a recent hack against a bank or other online service, check out PCWorld’s “Are You a Data Breach Victim? Here’s What to Do.”
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