IMF investigates suspected attack on its computers

The International Monetary Fund’s computer system was invaded by hackers recently, a potentially sensitive breach of a system that analyzes confidential information about the finances of most of the world’s economies.

According to the Washington Post, the scope and significance of the cyberattack are still being evaluated, but it marks the third recent raid on a major government financial institution.

The attacks come at a time when world economic officials are debating possible changes to currency rules, developing new regulations for banks and financial institutions, and crafting guidelines for the management of the world’s top economies — issues that make inside information extremely valuable to an investor or an interested government.

IMF officials provided few details about the cyberattack, which occurred as the agency is wrestling with complex and contentious financial rescue programs in several European nations that have required painful cuts in social spending. The organization is also pressing nations such as China to reform their financial and currency policies.

There was “an incident of intrusion into our IT system,” IMF spokesman David Hawley said Saturday. “We are investigating, and the fund is fully functional.”

The hack was “recently detected,” Hawley said, but he would not discuss when the intrusion occurred, how long it lasted, or the nature or amount of data that might have been compromised.

A US Treasury Department spokeswoman said there was no reason to believe that sensitive information about the US economy was jeopardized. The FBI will help investigate the incident, the Reuters news service reported late Saturday, citing a Defense Department spokeswoman.

IMF employees were told of the potentially serious “phishing” attack, first reported in the New York Times, in a memo on Wednesday. Staff members were given “the usual reminders” about computer security, Hawley said.