The International Monetary Fund suffers a cyber attack

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suffered a cyber attack, as reported this Friday in a brief statement.

The incident, detected on February 16, put 11 of the agency's email accounts at risk, which have already been restored.

So far, there is no indication that more accounts have been compromised or that criminals have had access to sensitive information, but the investigation remains open.

In the press release, the IMF limits itself to ensuring that “like all organizations, it operates under the assumption that unfortunately cyber incidents will occur,” which is why it has a solid cybersecurity program to respond effectively to these types of incidents. .

This would be the second time that the financial organization has seen its computer security compromised.

The first attack occurred in 2011. At that time, it had confidential data on all countries that were likely to face an economic crisis;

information that could strongly influence the market.

Security experts said on that occasion that everything indicated that the attack came from a State that sought to obtain an “internal digital presence” in the IMF network.

The concern was so high that the World Bank cut, as a “precaution,” the computer link that both agencies shared.

The attack occurred shortly after a digital theft from one of the largest companies dedicated to the design of security software compromised some of the information that other companies and governments used to control access to their computer systems, although the Fund insisted that They were not related.

In 2020, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank and former head of the International Monetary Fund, warned during a speech that a cyberattack could trigger a serious financial crisis.

For its part, the Financial Stability Board noted in the same year that “a major cyber incident, if not adequately contained, could seriously disrupt financial systems, including the most sensitive infrastructure, which would have broader implications for financial stability.” ”.

In both cases, they considered that the potential economic costs could be immense.

Not even a five-year period has passed and these risks have been exacerbated.

The financial system is undergoing a digital transformation that accelerated with the pandemic, due to the increase in demand for online services.

On the other hand, central banks are considering supporting digital currencies and modernizing payment systems, thereby increasing risks.

The IMF recalls that since these changes began, the financial sector is experiencing the second highest proportion of cyberattacks, only behind the health sector.

At European level, there are approximately 22,000 financial entities and digitalization has deepened the links between them.

Therefore, a cyber problem can go from being an operational disturbance to becoming a problem for the entire financial system.

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