Experts suspect source of targeted attack to be nation state as reports suggest IMF systems have been under attack for months The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is investigating a serious cyber-attack in which some of its systems were compromised and used to access internal data. Security experts said that the source seemed to be a “nation state” aiming to gain a “digital insider presence” on the network of the IMF, the inter-governmental group that oversees the global financial system and brings together 187 member countries. Tom Kellerman, a cybersecurity expert who has worked for both the IMF and was in charge of cyberintelligence in the World Bank’s treasury team, said the intrusion could have yielded a treasure trove of non-public economic data used by the IMF to promote exchange rate stability, support balanced international trade and provide resources to remedy members’ balance-of-payments crises. “It was a targeted attack,” said Kellerman, who serves on the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance. The attack will increase concerns over low-level cyberwarfare waged by governments for economic and industrial espionage purposes, which have grown in recent weeks with announcements by the chancellor, George Osborne, of cyber-attacks on the Treasury and by defence secretary Liam Fox of a “sustained attack” on the Ministry of Defence . Earlier this year it was revealed that computers at France’s finance ministry had been hacked and were silently redirecting data to websites in China, apparently in an effort to steal documents relating to February’s G20 summit. The code used in the IMF incident was developed specifically for the attack on the institution, said Kellerman, now chief technology officer at cyberconsultancy AirPatrol. The World Bank said it had cut its network connection with the IMF out of caution, even though the information shared over the link was “non-sensitive”. The IMF insists that it remains “fully functional” while the FBI investigates the attack. An internal memo issued on 8 June from the IMF’s chief information officer, Jonathan Palmer, told staff that suspicious file transfers had been detected and that an investigation had shown a desktop computer “had been compromised and used to access some Fund systems”. Significantly, he said that he had “no reason to believe that any personal information was sought for fraud purposes”. That points to a cyber-attack which sought to gain deeper access to the organisation’s computers. The New York Times cited computer experts as saying that the IMF’s systems had been under attack for several months. Such attacks have grown in number and seriousness over the past two years. At the end of 2009, Google discovered that it had come under attack from hackers inside China who sought high-level access to its systems and targeted dissidents’ email accounts. Senior figures inside the search engine company are convinced the attack was orchestrated by the Chinese government. A number of other financial and military organisations came under attack at around the same time, and last month Google said that it had again detected “phishing” attacks aimed at capturing login details for US government officials emanating from China. The Chinese government denied involvement — though it had not been directly accused. “The attack was clearly designed to infiltrate the IMF with the intention of gaining sensitive ‘insider privileged information’,” cybersecurity specialist Mohan Koo, the managing director of Dtex Systems (UK) said, adding that the recent spate of attacks on large global organisations was worrying because they were targeted, well organised and well executed, not opportunistic. “Perhaps most frightening of all is the fact that these type of attacks could quite easily be directed towards critical national infrastructure (CNI) organisations, for example energy and water, where the impact of such a breach would have severe, immediate and potentially life-threatening consequences for everyday citizens.” Rich Mills, a World Bank spokesman, said: “The World Bank Group, like any other large organisation, is increasingly aware of potential threats to the security of our information system and we are constantly working to improve our defences.” News of the hack came at a sensitive time for the world lender of last resort, as it seeks to replace its former managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who quit last month after being charged with the attempted rape of a hotel maid. The French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, remains the frontrunner to replace him. Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel and a former IMF deputy chief, has emerged as a late candidate, and Mexico’s central bank chief, Agustin Carstens, is also a contender. Jeff Moss, a self-described computer hacker and member of the Department of Homeland Security advisory committee, said the IMF intrusion could inspire attacks on other large institutions. “If they can’t catch them, I’m afraid it might embolden others to try,” said Moss, who is chief security officer for ICANN, the internet registry system. Security experts said it would be difficult for investigators to prove which nation was behind the attack. “Even developing nations are able to leverage the Internet in order to change their standing and ability to influence,” said Jeffrey Carr, author of the book Inside Cyber Warfare. “It’s something they never could have done before without gold or without military might,” Carr said. The CIA director, Leon Panetta, told the US Congress on 9 June that the country faced the “real possibility” of a crippling internet-based attack on power systems, the electricity grid, security, financial and governmental systems. Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon’s top supplier by sales and the biggest information technology provider to the US government, disclosed two weeks ago that it had thwarted a “significant” cyber-attack. It said it had become a “frequent target of adversaries around the world”. Access to the website of Spain’s national police force was blocked for over an hour late on Saturday in a reprisal attack by the Anonymous hackers group, El Mundo said on its website. IMF Economics Global economy Hacking Charles Arthur guardian.co.uk
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Scheme aims to help one million expectant mothers but the public-private initiative has been criticised as a conflict of interest The drinks retailer responsible for brands including Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness is to fund training for 10,000 midwives to help pregnant women reduce their alcohol intake as part of a project that has been criticised by medical authorities. The Department of Health scheme will be run by the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK (Nofas-UK) but funded by the drinks retailer Diageo. The government hopes the initiative – part of a plan to involve the private sector in public health campaigns – will help more than a million expectant mothers over three years. But the scheme has been criticised by the British Medical Association (BMA) as a potential “conflict of interest”. The BMA said doctors were so concerned by government moves to involve big business, charities and the retail sector in the drive to help people lead healthier lives that they planned to bring a motion against it at the association’s annual conference later this month. Government guidelines encourage pregnant women to avoid drinking alcohol. If they do drink, however, they are advised to drink only one to two units once or twice a week. According to the UK infant feeding survey 2005, 34% of women give up drinking while they are pregnant and 61% drink less. Just 4% do not change their drinking pattern. “Midwives are one of the most trusted sources of information and advice for pregnant women,” the public health minister, Anne Milton, said. “This pledge is a great example of how business can work with NHS staff to provide women with valuable information.” Diageo’s investment is part of the government’s controversial “responsibility deal” on public health in England. Six major independent health groups have refused to be involved in the scheme, including Alcohol Concern, the BMA and the Royal College of Physicians. They question whether it is right to conflate corporate responsibility with public health, citing examples where they fear the industry has dictated policy, and where pledges simply replicate existing standards. The Diageo initiative will build on training already delivered across five cities in the past two years. Susan Fleisher, from Nofas-UK, said the scheme would have huge benefits. But Prof Anna Gilmore, a public health expert from Bath University, said there was a fundamental conflict of interest in the “responsibility deal”. She said: “These large corporations, whether they sell tobacco, food or alcohol, are legally obliged to maximise shareholder returns. They therefore have to oppose any policies that could reduce sales and profitability – in other words, the most effective policies.” Alcohol Pregnancy Midwifery Diageo Food & drink industry Health & wellbeing Health Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk
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Paper says sorry to former deputy prime minister after it wrongly quoted him as criticising Labour leader Ed Miliband The former deputy prime minister John Prescott has received an apology from the Sunday Times after it wrongly quoting him as criticising the Labour leader, Ed Miliband. In the article, entitled “Labour big beasts maul Ed Miliband”, Prescott was quoted as telling “friends” that “it is only early days, but it has not been a great start” by the party’s leader. Prescott said on Twitter that the Sunday Times political editor, Isabel Oakeshott, called his family home in Hull on an ex-directory number. He said she had no opportunity to even ask a question because he simply asked her how she had got the number, told her never to call it again and put the phone down. The Sunday Times tweeted its apology, saying: “Due to a prod error a quote was wrongly attributed to @johnprescott. We apologise for the confusion & are happy to set the record straight.” Prescott replied: “Typical of Murdoch newspaper to blame a production worker not the journalist. My name was used to justify big beast headline.” He added: “I refuse to accept this mealy-mouthed apology. I want a front page retraction – due prominence – in next week’s Sunday Times.” Prescott, a potential victim of phone hacking by an investigator working for the News of the World, another Rupert Murdoch paper, has been one of the most vociferous critics of the handling of the hacking scandal by News International and the Metropolitan police. Sunday Times Newspapers & magazines News International National newspapers Newspapers John Prescott Ed Miliband Labour guardian.co.uk
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Hoda Saber’s wife says she received reports that prison officials delayed transferring him to hospital for six hours A leading Iranian journalist and opposition figure has died of a heart attack after spending 10 days on hunger strike in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Hoda Saber, a 52-year-old political activist from the opposition Nationalist-Religious movement, was taken to the Modarres hospital in the city after a cardiac complication, which his wife told the Guardianwas brought on by his hunger strike. The news of his death coincides with the second anniversary of Iran’s disputed presidential election, which gave the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a second term in the office. Speaking from Tehran, Saber’s wife, Farideh Jamshidi, said: “My husband died two days ago, but we were unaware of his death until today when someone in the hospital informed one of our friends.” According to Jamshidi, Saber stopped eating food and later stopped drinking water in protest at the death of his fellow dissident Haleh Sahabi, who died of a heart attack during scuffles with security forces at the funeral of her father, Ezatollah Sahabi – also a leading political activist – on 1 June. The Sahabis were also members of the Nationalist-Religious movement, an alliance of politicians whose activities have come under scrutiny in recent years, especially since the 2009 election. Ezatollah Sahabi was the leader of the alliance. Jamshidi accused prison officials of negligence toward her husband, saying she received reports that they delayed transferring him to hospital for six hours. “Doctors told us later that they could have saved his life by taking him to the hospital earlier. We were supposed to visit him in the prison tomorrow, and now we have to visit his dead body in the cemetery.” Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency denied the allegations and said Saber had received medical care before his death. The agency accused the opposition of politicising his death. After disappearing for two weeks in July 2010, Saber’s family were informed that he had been picked up by security officials and taken to Evin. When Haleh Sahabi died at her father’s funeral, Saber – who had served several jail terms in the past – and his fellow inmate Amirkhosro Dalirsani said in a joint statement that they would go on hunger strike in protest over her death and over the brutal crackdown against protesters by the regime. Several human rights organisations have issued statements for the anniversary of the election, and many have expressed concerns for those political prisoners arrested since 2009. The foreign secretary, William Hague, also issued a statement, saying: “Two years after people took to the streets to demand reform, I want it to be known that our attention has not been diverted and we will continue to call on Iran to implement its international human rights obligations.” Iran Middle East William Hague Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
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Co-ordination committees documenting anti-government protests report besieged town attacked from south and east Syrian army tanks rolled into the besieged town of Jisr al-Shughour from two sides on Sunday, accompanied by machine gun fire and loud explosions. Local co-ordination committees, which have been documenting anti-government protests, reported that the town was attacked from the south and east by troops in about 200 vehicles, including tanks. Blasts could be heard as helicopters clattered overhead. The foreign secretary, William Hague, reacted to the attack by calling on the UN security council to proceed with a resolution condemning violence by Syrian troops against their own people. However, in a Sky News interview, he said the likelihood of securing a resolution were on a “knife-edge” because of opposition from neighbouring Lebanon. Hague also ruled out military action, saying there was “no prospect” of the UN authorising air raids. The advance on Jisr al-Shughour was announced just over a week ago as vengeance for what the Syrian government claimed was the killing of 120 members of the military by “armed men”. Activists said the victims were members of the security forces who were shot by regime loyalists after they refused to fire on protesters. The town has now been sealed off by around 15,000 troops. Syrian forces told an Associated Press reporter – who, despite a general ban on foreign journalists entering the country, was invited to travel with them as they entered Jisr al-Shughour – that troops were there to arrest “gunmen” in the largely evacuated town. Jisr al-Shughour, in the north-west of Syria, is normally home to about 40,000 people, but thousands of inhabitants have crossed into Turkey in recent days, taking sanctuary in refugee camps. Many of those who remained behind fled on Sunday if they were able to do so. One of the remaining residents – 39-year-old Hikmat, who was present when the Syrian army rolled in – reported seeing troops firing indiscriminately. He finally fled after being shot in the foot by government troops. The region, near Turkey’s border, has a history of hostility towards the Damascus regime and is posing the biggest challenge yet to President Bashar Assad’s struggle to crush the anti-government revolt. Reports emerged of government troops firing live rounds at large crowds who had gathered last Sunday in a large public garden in the centre of Jisr al-Shughour to mark the funeral of a man killed by security forces the previous day. Abu Tahar, a 29-year-old ambulance driver being treated for gunshot wounds to his back at a hospital in Antakya, Turkey, said he was shot after arriving at the garden to help the wounded, and reported that bullets “were raining from everywhere”. Members of his family, who he has contacted by telephone since being evacuated, have confirmed that large numbers of security forces who had abandoned their posts in the hours following the massacre in the garden were shot at by soldiers loyal to the regime. The Syria-based human rights activist Mustafa Osso said the army was conducting military operations in three areas in the Idlib province, including the towns of Maaret al-Numan, Jisr al-Shughour, and the nearby Jabal al-Zawiya, a mountain that includes several villages. He reported that advancing troops were using heavy weaponry against hundreds of army defectors from the area, and said this was “the biggest and most dangerous wave of defections” since an uprising against Assad’s regime began in mid-March. Syria Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Bashar Al-Assad William Hague Foreign policy Turkey Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Co-ordination committees documenting anti-government protests report besieged town attacked from south and east Syrian army tanks rolled into the besieged town of Jisr al-Shughour from two sides on Sunday, accompanied by machine gun fire and loud explosions. Local co-ordination committees, which have been documenting anti-government protests, reported that the town was attacked from the south and east by troops in about 200 vehicles, including tanks. Blasts could be heard as helicopters clattered overhead. The foreign secretary, William Hague, reacted to the attack by calling on the UN security council to proceed with a resolution condemning violence by Syrian troops against their own people. However, in a Sky News interview, he said the likelihood of securing a resolution were on a “knife-edge” because of opposition from neighbouring Lebanon. Hague also ruled out military action, saying there was “no prospect” of the UN authorising air raids. The advance on Jisr al-Shughour was announced just over a week ago as vengeance for what the Syrian government claimed was the killing of 120 members of the military by “armed men”. Activists said the victims were members of the security forces who were shot by regime loyalists after they refused to fire on protesters. The town has now been sealed off by around 15,000 troops. Syrian forces told an Associated Press reporter – who, despite a general ban on foreign journalists entering the country, was invited to travel with them as they entered Jisr al-Shughour – that troops were there to arrest “gunmen” in the largely evacuated town. Jisr al-Shughour, in the north-west of Syria, is normally home to about 40,000 people, but thousands of inhabitants have crossed into Turkey in recent days, taking sanctuary in refugee camps. Many of those who remained behind fled on Sunday if they were able to do so. One of the remaining residents – 39-year-old Hikmat, who was present when the Syrian army rolled in – reported seeing troops firing indiscriminately. He finally fled after being shot in the foot by government troops. The region, near Turkey’s border, has a history of hostility towards the Damascus regime and is posing the biggest challenge yet to President Bashar Assad’s struggle to crush the anti-government revolt. Reports emerged of government troops firing live rounds at large crowds who had gathered last Sunday in a large public garden in the centre of Jisr al-Shughour to mark the funeral of a man killed by security forces the previous day. Abu Tahar, a 29-year-old ambulance driver being treated for gunshot wounds to his back at a hospital in Antakya, Turkey, said he was shot after arriving at the garden to help the wounded, and reported that bullets “were raining from everywhere”. Members of his family, who he has contacted by telephone since being evacuated, have confirmed that large numbers of security forces who had abandoned their posts in the hours following the massacre in the garden were shot at by soldiers loyal to the regime. The Syria-based human rights activist Mustafa Osso said the army was conducting military operations in three areas in the Idlib province, including the towns of Maaret al-Numan, Jisr al-Shughour, and the nearby Jabal al-Zawiya, a mountain that includes several villages. He reported that advancing troops were using heavy weaponry against hundreds of army defectors from the area, and said this was “the biggest and most dangerous wave of defections” since an uprising against Assad’s regime began in mid-March. Syria Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Bashar Al-Assad William Hague Foreign policy Turkey Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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Arizona congresswoman suffered serious head injuries in January shooting in which six people died and 13 were injured The first photographs of US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords since she was shot in the head in Tucson in January have been published. The imagesappeared on Gifford’s Facebook page on Sunday. The Republican congresswoman for Arizonahas spent nearly five months in a Houston rehabilitation centre, following the mass shooting on 8 January in which six people were killed and 13 were injured. The only previous time she had appeared in the public since the shooting was on 27 April, when she took a flight to Florida to see her husband, the astronaut Mark Kelly, launched into space. Grainy footage, taken from afar, showed Giffords slowly but purposefully walking up the aircraft’s stairs. Last month, as Kelly was orbiting Earth, doctors operated on Giffords’ skull, finally freeing her from wearing a cumbersome protective helmet that her staff members said she hated. Giffords has made remarkable progress, asking for her favourite foods, singing her favourite songs and learning again how to walk and talk, although she struggles to string sentences together. In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Giffords’ chief-of-staff Pia Carusone said Giffords’ limited speaking ability means she relies primarily on facial expressions and hand gestures to communicate. “She is borrowing upon other ways of communicating. Her words are back more and more now, but she’s still using facial expressions as a way to express. Pointing. Gesturing,” Carusone said. “Add it all together and she’s able to express the basics of what she wants or needs. But, when it comes to a bigger and more complex thought that requires words, that’s where she’s had the trouble.” Carusone also said that if Giffords’ recovery were to plateau now “it would not be nearly the quality of life she had before”. “All that we can hope for is that she won’t plateau today and that she’ll keep going and that when she does plateau, it will be at a place far away from here,” she said. Jared Lee Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the shooting and is being held in a Missouri jail. A judge declared him incompetent to stand trial, but prosecutors still hope he will eventually be declared fit to answer the charges against him. Gabrielle Giffords United States US politics Republicans Arizona Arizona shooting Gun crime guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom nearly fell at the start. Preakness winner Shackleford faded in the stretch. The Belmont Stakes was up for grabs. And it was 24-1 long shot Ruler on Ice who delivered a huge upset today in the final leg of the Triple Crown, splashing his way…
Continue reading …An eye-stinging, throat-burning haze of smoke spewing from a gigantic wildfire in eastern Arizona is beginning to stretch as far east as central New Mexico, prompting health officials to warn residents as far away as Albuquerque about potential respiratory hazards. The 672-square-mile blaze was no longer just an Arizona problem…
Continue reading …And the big Sarah Palin email bombshell is … nonexistent. As the read-a-thon continues , here’s a sampling of different headlines out there: Anchorage Daily News : “Emails show criticism put Palin on defensive” New York Times : “Palin E-Mails Show Her Combative and Engaged” Politico : “Long-lost Sarah Palin surfaces in emails” Daily Caller…
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