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GettyA number of social media accounts used by An Garda Síochána (Irish police) appear to have been hacked and used to promote cryptocurrency.
The @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo X accounts removed Garda branding and began publishing posts promoting a cryptocurrency on Wednesday night, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
Some posts on the accounts were flagged with warnings indicating they are linked to another suspended profile, while the location of the accounts was changed to Amsterdam.
An Garda Síochána said the “unauthorised access” occurred only on the X platform, adding that Garda systems were not affected and there was “no loss or impact on any Garda data”.
A spokesperson warned people not to interact with any content posted on the @GardaTraffic or @GardaInfo X accounts, or accounts claiming 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,” they added.
On Wednesday morning the @GardaTraffic account, which has 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, is not showing any biographical information but older An Garda Síochána posts are still visible on the account.
Republic of IrelandSocial mediaComputer hackingCyber-securityCryptocurrencyCyber-attacks
