So What Did the Hackers Take in the IMF Attack?

Yesterday we learned that the International Monetary Fund was the victim of a cyber attack. As if that wasn't scary enough, now Business Insider (via Bloomberg) is reporting what may have been taken during the hack and how it happened. And while details are still sketchy, the gist of the news is not good.

What they took: e-mails and other documents, according to the same someone familiar with the matter.

When they took it: Before Dominique Strauss-Khan, the former IMF chief, was arrested for rape.

How it happened: The IMF is not releasing any details nor are they commenting on the extent of the attack other than to say that the fund is fully functional. However, reading into a memo sent to employees after the attack, we suspect that it might have happened via "phishing" (hackers trying to get access to your password and username) or after an employee clicked on a link or video sent to their email.

The IMF's Chief Information Officer Jonathan Palmer sent an email to employees with the subject, "Important Notice: Virus Attacks," on June 8th.

Bloomberg got the memo and says it says: Be on [your] guard. [A] computer at the fund was “compromised."

"Last week we detected some suspicious file transfers, and the subsequent investigation established that a Fund desktop computer had been compromised and used to access some Fund systems...At this point, we have no reason to believe that any personal information was sought for fraud purposes.”

“Staff are strongly requested NOT TO OPEN emails and video links without authenticating the source..."

In an email sent on June 9th, Palmer warned employees about "increased phishing activity."

There's also speculation that the hack was perpetrated by a foreign government. However, as BI points out, it's also possible it was the work of the infamous hacker group Anonymous.

Read the details here.