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UPDATE 4-IMF becomes latest known target of major cyber attack
Reuters ^ | Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:49pm EDT | Jim Wolf and Jim Finkle

Posted on 06/11/2011 9:02:43 PM PDT by Pan_Yan

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund, the intergovernmental group that oversees the global financial system and brings together 187 member nations, has become the latest known target of a significant cyber attack on its computer systems.

A cybersecruty expert who has worked for both the Washington-headquartered IMF and the World Bank, its sister institution, said the intruders' goal had been to install software that would give a nation state a "digital insider presence" on the IMF network.

Such a presence could yield a trove of non-public economic data used by the Fund to promote exchange rate stability, support balanced international trade and provide resources to remedy members' balance-of-payments crises.

"It was a targeted attack," said Tom Kellerman, who has worked for both international financial institutions and who serves on the board of a group known as the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance.

The code used in the IMF incident "was developed and released for this purpose," said Kellerman, formerly responsible for cyber-intelligence within the World Bank's treasury team and now chief technolgy officer at AirPatrol, a cyber consultancy.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cyberwar; hackers; imf
The obvious bet is on China, though I'd put a few bucks on Russia as my dark horse.
1 posted on 06/11/2011 9:02:45 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
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To: Pan_Yan

Those two nations are also in my Top Five list of potential suspects.


2 posted on 06/11/2011 9:06:37 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Pan_Yan

Those two nations are also in my Top Five list of potential suspects.


3 posted on 06/11/2011 9:07:35 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Pan_Yan

I hope the attackers are successful.


4 posted on 06/11/2011 9:08:05 PM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: pnh102
I hope the attackers are successful.

This isn't a Wikileaks attack, trying to expose corruption at the IMF. This is a nation trying to gain insider data in order to manipulate the markets.

5 posted on 06/11/2011 9:11:43 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
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To: Pan_Yan

No doubt to help influence a crackdown on the net. Sarkozy will love it.


6 posted on 06/11/2011 9:12:41 PM PDT by Palter (We can't afford a Republican or Dem President. We are broke.)
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To: Pan_Yan

Hopefully, it was Barrister Smith from Nigeria who has an unbelievable offer for the IMF...


7 posted on 06/11/2011 9:13:29 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Pan_Yan
This isn't a Wikileaks attack, trying to expose corruption at the IMF. This is a nation trying to gain insider data in order to manipulate the markets.

The IMF seeks to remove the US Dollar as a reserve currency. This would be very bad for us. That means that if the IMF is stopped, it would be good for us. That is why I hope the attackers are successful.

8 posted on 06/11/2011 9:13:40 PM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: pnh102

It doesn’t look like they were trying to stop the IMF, but rather USE the IMF from within for their own gain...


9 posted on 06/11/2011 9:26:12 PM PDT by EasySt (2012... Sometimes you have to flush twice.)
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To: Pan_Yan

CYBER ATTACK! Revenge of the Hotel Maid!

(At theaters near you)


10 posted on 06/11/2011 10:16:29 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: Pan_Yan

False Flag operation to instill the worldwide internet controls so that a free population can only link to unicorns and rainbows 24/7.


11 posted on 06/12/2011 1:15:25 AM PDT by abigkahuna
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