Hackers take aim at World Bank

Network under constant attack, claims report

Shaun Nichols in San Francisco, vnunet.com 11 Oct 2008

The World Bank's internal networks have been compromised by outside attackers at least six times in the past year, according to a recent report.

Fox News cited internal World Bank memos reporting that the organisation had been attacked at least twice from IP addresses originating in China, and that last spring the network was hit with a major spyware infection.

The published memos also outline an attack in July in which at least five World Bank servers containing sensitive information were compromised.

The memo recommended that each of the servers be completely erased and restored to eliminate any malicious code, and that security protocols be updated to prevent future attacks.

The report also cited an email from July which described an "unprecedented crisis" and recommended the changing of 4,500 passwords to protect from future attack. The World Bank has fiercely denied the details of the report.

"The Fox News story is wrong and is riddled with falsehoods and errors. The story cites misinformation from unattributed sources and leaked emails that are taken out of context," the bank said.

"Like other public and private institutions, the World Bank has repeatedly experienced hacking attacks on its computer systems and is constantly updating its security to defeat these.

"But at no point has a hacking attack accessed sensitive information in the World Bank's treasury, procurement, anti-corruption or human resources departments."

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