An Garda Síochána has confirmed it has regained control of social media accounts after a hack which saw “unauthorised access” to two official profiles on X.
The accounts @GardaInfo and @GardaTraffic were taken over in a breach related to cryptocurrency on Wednesday night and members of the public were warned not to interact with them.
The @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo accounts on X, formerly Twitter, removed some branding and started publishing scores of posts about a cryptocurrency from Wednesday night.
All posts on both accounts have been removed by the platform, but were seen by thousands of people while live.
On Thursday evening, gardaí confirmed they had regained control of the accounts but they will remain inactive while the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau carry out its investigations.
The Garda said the breach was only on X and that there was “no unauthorised access to any Garda systems and that there is no loss or impact on any Garda controlled data”.
The location on both accounts was changed to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, but the @GardaTraffic account, which has more than 600,000 followers, still claims it is the Garda account for traffic and road safety updates.
The @GardaInfo account, which has almost 300,000 followers, was rebranded to appear to be the support account for a cryptocurrency wallet.
Cybersecurity expert Brian Honan said the incident was “embarrassing” for the Garda as the organisation tasked with tackling crime instead fell victim to it.
However, he said the “hijacking” of corporate accounts is not unusual as attackers often seek out high-profile accounts with trusted names and a large amount of followers.
Olga Cronin, head of policy at the the Irish Council of Civil Liberties, said any hack of a State agency or body’s systems or online accounts is extremely worrying.
“An Garda Síochána is entrusted with extremely sensitive and personal information, and their social media accounts could contain valuable personal information via direct messages for example.
“It’s unclear how these accounts were taken over and the extent of the harm or exposure.”
She added: “But secure collection, storage, use and deletion of data – whether it is gathered through social media, tech like body-worn cameras or people walking into a Garda station to report a crime – are essential to An Garda Síochána’s operation and all of our safety.
“An Garda Síochána and X should explain to the public what has happened as soon as is practicable, in order to address public concern.” – Additional reporting: PA