IMF Shared an Update about the February Security Breach – All Affected Email Accounts Resecured

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday shared an update about a cyberattack that breached 11 email accounts from the organization on February 16, 2024.

A spokesperson said that they are continuing their investigation but are sure that the email accounts of top executives are safe, including the email account of IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

However, at the time of writing, they have neither identified the attacker nor has any group claimed responsibility for the incident.

While the IMF has refused to divulge more information about the incident for security reasons, they did confirm that they use the Microsoft 365 cloud-based email platform. They also said that this attack seems to be an independent incident and not a part of Microsoft’s targeting.

This was an important clarification because Microsoft has been affected by a series of cyberattacks in recent times, the latest being a very sophisticated attack by a Russia-backed hacker group called Midnight Blizzard.

Read more: Microsoft Azure hit with the largest data breach in its history

IMF’s Last Major Data Breach in 2011

Back then, it was revealed that the attack took place over a period of several months and was deemed to be one of the most sophisticated hacks of its time.

The IMF is responsible for managing financial issues all around the world. It houses confidential information about the fiscal conditions of nations, negotiations between world leaders, and snippets of international financial agreements.

Information of this kind in the wrong hands can be devastating for all countries. But, as IMF has repeatedly reassured, there has been no major breach.