Garda X hack: force regains control of hacked accounts

Garda warns public after hackers seize official X profiles

The force confirmed on Thursday evening that it had recovered @GardaInfo and @GardaTraffic, both of which were seized by an attacker the night before. 

During the incident, followers were warned to steer clear of the pages and avoid interacting with their content.

The intruder used the accounts to publish a stream of cryptocurrency-related messages and switched their listed location to Amsterdam. 

X has since removed the unauthorised content, although it had already been viewed by thousands of users before it was taken down.

No data was lost in major social media breach

The scale of the breach was particularly significant given the accounts’ audiences. 

@GardaTraffic has more than 600,000 followers and continued to display its familiar road safety branding, while @GardaInfo, with close to 300,000 followers, was altered to resemble a cryptocurrency wallet support service.

Gardaí have insisted that the incident did not extend to the force’s internal systems. 

No unauthorised access to Garda systems was detected, and officials said there had been no loss of, or impact on, Garda-controlled data. 

Both accounts will remain offline as the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau examines what happened, according to the Irish Times.

Civil liberties group warns Garda hack must be taken seriously

The incident has nevertheless raised concerns about the risks posed by compromised official accounts. 

Cybersecurity expert Brian Honan told the newspaper that account hijacking is a common tactic, with criminals often choosing high-profile profiles because their established audiences make them attractive targets.

Olga Cronin, head of policy at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, also warned that a breach involving a State body should be taken seriously. 

She pointed out that private messages on social media accounts can contain valuable personal information, and said it was not yet clear how the attacker gained access or what information, if any, may have been exposed.