The cyber attack on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which one official called a "very major breach," has been traced to an IMF computer infected with malware designed to steal information. The case is alarming due to the potentially market-moving information handled by the IMF--including communications with national leaders and negotiations over bailout programs in Europe and elsewhere.

While it is not known if any data was stolen, the presence of suspicious file transfers favors the argument that the perpetrators must have made off with something. Even as the IMF says that the intrusion was not related to the break-in at RSA, which was speculated to have compromised its SecurID authentication system, it is clear to observers that this is not the work of a lone hacker. As eWeek observed, "the information held by the IMF would be more valuable to a country than to an individual."

IMF officials have so far declined to say who they believe was behind the attack, or provide further details pertaining to the scope and damage incurred. An internal memo that warned employees of the presence of "increased phishing activity" does suggest that the infiltration took place via spear phishing. For now, David Hawley, a spokesman for the IMF, said in a statement that "we are investigating an incident, and the fund is fully functional."

For more:
- check out this article at eWeek
- check out this article at Bloomberg
- check out this article at The New York Times

Related Articles:
Should cyber attacks be considered acts of war?
Phishers go after White House officials' Gmail accounts
U.S. may deem cyber attack an act of war
RSA tells more about SecurID breach