IMF hit by cyber attack

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IMF hit by cyber attack

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The cyber attack resulted in the loss of e-mails and other documents of the IMF.

12 June,2011 10:13 am

The International Monetary Fund was hit by a cyber attack on its computer systems, an IMF spokesman said, highlighting a growing rash of network break-ins at high-profile institutions.The cyber attack caused the loss of important e-mails and other documents.A cyber security expert, who has worked for the IMF and World Bank, said the goal of the cyber attack was to install software that would give a nation state a digital insider presence on the network.The attack occurred before the May 14 arrest of former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual assault charges. Cyber security experts say it is very difficult to trace a sophisticated cyber break-in to its ultimate source.The IMF, which has sensitive information on the economies of many nations, was hit during the last several months by what computer experts described as a large and sophisticated cyber attack, The New York Times reported.An official with the World Bank, the IMFs sister institution in Washington, said the World Bank had cut its network connection with the IMF out of caution. The information shared on that link was non sensitive info, the official added.