According to a misleading and pretty much unrelated article, FOX News reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) network has been infected by spyware[1]. The IMF denies any security breach or critical intrusion problems.
The article goes on discussing various topics such as the financial crisis, cyber security of the new president-elect and event describe spyware as “software that is secretly installed on a computer to intercept information or take control of the system” which is partially wrong, as spyware don’t necessarily implies control of the computer, and as far as I know, spyware can come bundled with software and doesn’t mean it’s secretly installed. It does, however intercept information, but that could be information about surfing habits. No information is given about the data collected or the type of spyware detected, but always according to FOX, “cyber-hackers” would be the cause…
The report goes on writing about Chinese attempts to develop cyber warfare capacities, which is not related, and do not give any concrete information about the alleged “security breach” at the IMF. FOX News cites a spokesman, Bill Murray, saying precautions had been implemented but didn’t report anything about an “intrusion”:
“There was no lockdown as far as I’m aware” says Murray. “I’m not aware of any major breaches, but enhanced security measures have been taken.”
Therefore, be suspicious about this story, as it seem widely over exaggerated by FOX News . I’m not quite sure the author really knows what he’s talking about…
[1] “Cyber-Hackers Break Into IMF Computer System”, Richard Behar, FOX News, November 14, 2008, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,452348,00.html (accessed on November 17, 2008)