The International Monetary Fund is investigating an attack on its computer system, a spokesman for the Washington-based organization has confirmed.

The IMF isn't commenting on the scope of the breach or whether any sensitive data was taken. (Associated Press)

The IMF — which is already facing a public relations headache after last month's arrest of its now-former leader — isn't commenting on the scope of the breach or whether any sensitive data was taken.

IMF spokesman David Hawley on Saturday said the organization is "fully functional" despite what he described only as an "IT incident."

The IMF, which provides tens of billions of dollars in bailouts, has sensitive information on countries in financial trouble.

The New York Times cited unidentified IMF officials as saying the attack was sophisticated and serious. One official cited by the Times said it occurred over the last several months, before the troubles involving IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Strauss-Kahn resigned as IMF chief on May 14 after being accused of sexually assaulting a maid in a New York hotel in May. He has denied the charges.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has emerged as the front-runner to replace Strauss-Kahn. Other strong contenders include Mexico's central bank chief Agustin Carstens and Bank of Israel governor and former IMF deputy chief Stanley Fischer.

Reuters quoted a cybersecurity expert who has worked for both the IMF and the World Bank, its sister institution, as saying the intruders' goal had been to install software that would give a nation state a "digital insider presence" on the IMF network.

Tom Kellerman told the news agency the code used in the IMF incident was developed specifically for the attack on the institution.

Bloomberg News reported the attack resulted in the loss of emails and other documents.

The World Bank said it briefly cut its network connection with the IMF out "an abundance of caution."

With files from The Associated Press