Two X accounts linked to Ireland’s national police force were reportedly compromised and used to promote a cryptocurrency app, though the force said its internal systems and data were unaffected.
Social media accounts used by An Garda Síochána appear to have been hacked and used to promote cryptocurrency. The @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo X accounts removed their Garda branding and began publishing posts promoting a cryptocurrency on Wednesday night, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
Posts on the accounts were flagged with warnings indicating that they were linked to another suspended profile, while the accounts’ locations were changed to Amsterdam. An Garda Síochána later clarified that “unauthorised access” had occurred only on the X platform, adding that its systems were not affected and there was “no loss or impact on any Garda data”.
The compromised accounts began sharing posts promoting a cryptocurrency app that claimed to offer users an “allocation” of XRP. XRP is a cryptocurrency primarily used in the financial sector by investors and fintech companies.
The @GardaInfo and @GardaTraffic accounts appeared to have been under unauthorised control since around 11 PM on Wednesday. While the @GardaTraffic account’s profile picture had been changed, the rest of the profile appeared to remain unchanged.
