Federal Reserve Victim to Over 50 Cybersecurity Breaches

• By Sydny Shepard
• Jun 02, 2016

The U.S. Federal Reserve has detected more than 50 cybersecurity breaches between 2011 and 2015. The central bank’s staff suspected hackers or spies as several of the incidents were described internally as “espionage,” according to the records.

The Fed’s computer systems play a major role in global banking and hold confidential information on discussions about monetary policy that drives financial markets.

Reuters reported that the cybersecurity reports, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, were heavily edited by Fed officials to keep security procedures secret.

The records show only a small percentage of the cyber attacks on the Federal Reserve as they only include cases involving the Washington-based Board of Governors, a federal agency that is subject to public record laws. This suggests there could be more breaches that are not public record.

In eight information breaches between 2011 and 2013 the Fed staff wrote that the cases involved “malicious code.” Four of the incidents in 2012 were considered acts of “espionage” as information was disclosed in at least two of those incidents.

The disclosure of these breaches comes as banks around the world are battling with cyber and data security. Cyber criminals have targets large financial institutions worldwide, including America’s largest bank JPMorgan, as well as small players like Ecuador’s Banco del Austro and Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank.