HACK ATTACKS : THE FEDERAL RESERVE HAS REVEALED A HACK ATTACK HAS STOLEN DATA

Courtesy TIME

HACK ATTACKS : THE FEDERAL RESERVE HAS REVEALED A HACK ATTACK HAS STOLEN DATA

The Federal Reserve has confirmed it was a victim of hacking recently and that some of its data was stolen. 

The private institution was forced to make the admission after Anonymous, the activist site, reported that it had published the credentials of 4,000 US bank executives.  Such data comprises the names, workplaces of thousands banks executives, and their personal cell phone.  More pointedly, it also contains computer log-on names and passwords.  

However, the Federal Reserve has not confirmed that the Anonymous release is related to their own incident, and has reassured the public that passwords were not taken, and that the list that was hacked was a temporary list of personnel used during a natural disaster.

They also maintained that the hacking incident has not affected the critical operations of the Fed Reserve.

Some believe that this latest attack is linked to Anonymou's wide ranging retaliation for the death of Aaron Schwartz, but Anonymous has attempted attacks at the banking institution before over its protest of its economic policies, but this was the first time they were successful, apparently. 

If a third party gained access to the Reserve's sensitive databank, the dispersal of the data could cause chaos within the banking system.  Many are calling for the Federal Reserve to release all information regarding the attack, in order to fully assess the degree of infiltration and what information might have been compromised during the attack.

Source: BBc NEWS 2.6.13