An Garda Síochána has warned the public against engaging with its official X profiles following a security incident where hackers seized both the @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo accounts to publish cryptocurrency promotions.
In an official statement released today, the police service confirmed that unauthorised third parties had gained control of the two profiles on the social media platform.
The force stated that the breach was confined entirely to the external service, reassuring the public regarding internal police systems and sensitive records.
“An Garda Síochána can confirm third-party unauthorised access with 2 Official Garda Social Media X accounts @gardainfo and @gardatraffic,” the force said.
“This unauthorised access has occurred on the X platform only.
“An Garda Síochána is satisfied that there is no unauthorised access with any Garda systems and that there is no loss or impact on any Garda data.
“An Garda Síochána is warning members of the public not to interact with any content posted on the @gardatraffic or @gardainfo X accounts, or accounts purporting to be these accounts.
“An Garda Síochána continues to carry out our internal enquiries and work with the X platform to understand how this unauthorised access has occurred.”
Both accounts had parts of their branding removed overnight before scores of posts promoting a cryptocurrency were published.
Warnings were subsequently placed on some of the posts due to links with another suspended profile, a measure typically applied during violations concerning spam, malicious activity, or security risks.
The profile settings for both pages were altered to list their location as Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The @GardaTraffic account, which has around 600,000 followers, continued to display its regular description as the official source for road safety and traffic updates.
The @GardaInfo account, followed by nearly 300,000 users and directly linked on the official Garda website, had its handle modified to resemble a customer support page for a cryptocurrency wallet, though older videos and statements published by the police service remained visible on the profile.