Hackers take aim at World Bank

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

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

The published memos also outline an attack from 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 cites an email from July which describes an "unprecedented crisis" and recommends that 4,500 passwords be changed to protect from future attack.

The World Bank, however, 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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