Irish police social media accounts hacked to promote cryptocurrency

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 11:33 · Archive

Hackers took over An Garda Síochána's @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo accounts to post cryptocurrency promotions.

Hackers have compromised social media accounts belonging to An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. The @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo X accounts removed official Garda branding on Wednesday night and began posting content promoting a cryptocurrency.

The @GardaTraffic account has 600,000 followers and was previously used for traffic and road safety updates. The @GardaInfo account has nearly 300,000 followers. Both accounts had their location information changed to Amsterdam, and some of the cryptocurrency promotion posts were flagged with warnings indicating they were linked to suspended profiles.

Older legitimate An Garda Síochána posts remain visible on the accounts. An Garda Síochána has been contacted for comment.

Irish police social media accounts hacked to promote cryptocurrency — Image: BBC Northern Ireland

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How it is being reported

Irish police social media accounts breached by hackersThe @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo accounts appeared to publish posts promoting a cryptocurrency on Wednesday.BBC Northern Ireland · 15 Oct, 11:22
Garda social media accounts taken over and posting about cryptocurrencyBelfast Telegraph · 15 Oct, 08:08

In this story: An Garda Síochána · Amsterdam

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