Sunday 1 November 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 0133Unauthorised access to computer systems · Co. Dublin · 14 Oct 2026

Garda X accounts retaken after unauthorised access, Dublin

Two official An Garda Síochána X accounts, @gardainfo and @gardatraffic, with a combined following of over 900,000, were breached on Wednesday night, 14 October 2026, when a third party gained unauthorised access and published scores of posts promoting a cryptocurrency. The hackers removed some branding, changed the accounts' location to Amsterdam, and altered @GardaInfo to appear as a support account for a cryptocurrency wallet. Garda Headquarters confirmed there was no unauthorised access to internal Garda systems and no loss or impact on Garda-controlled data. Control of both accounts was re-established on 15 October 2026, and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is carrying out a criminal investigation, with the accounts remaining inactive for the coming days.

  1. Reported15 Oct
    4 reports
  2. Arrested
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • Two official An Garda Síochána X accounts, @gardainfo and @gardatraffic, were breached by a third party who published scores of posts promoting a cryptocurrency.
  • The hackers removed some branding, changed the accounts' location to Amsterdam, and altered @GardaInfo to appear as a support account for a cryptocurrency wallet.
Where
The unauthorised access occurred on the X platform only, with the accounts' location set to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
When
The breach occurred on Wednesday night, 14 October 2026.
Cause
A third party gained unauthorised access to promote a cryptocurrency platform.
Investigation
  • The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is carrying out a criminal investigation into the breach.
  • Gardaí warned the public not to interact with any content posted on the accounts.
Other details
  • The accounts have a combined following of more than 900,000 people, with @GardaTraffic at 600,000 and @GardaInfo at almost 300,000.
  • Garda Headquarters confirmed there was no unauthorised access to any internal Garda systems and no loss or impact on Garda-controlled data.
  • Control of both accounts was re-established on 15 October 2026, and the accounts will remain inactive for the coming days.
  • Some posts appeared targeted at individual users but were visible to hundreds of thousands of followers, and a warning was attached to some posts due to a link with a suspended account.
32 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatTwo official garda accounts on the X platform were hacked (rte.ie)
  • whatThe affected accounts are @gardainfo and @gardatraffic (rte.ie)
  • whatThe hacked accounts removed branding and published scores of posts about a cryptocurrency (rte.ie)
  • whatTwo social media accounts run by An Garda Síochána were hacked. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatThe accounts @GardaTraffic and @GardaInfo were breached on the X platform. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatThe accounts have a combined following of more than 900,000 people. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatThe unauthorised access occurred on the X platform only. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatNo data has been exposed. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatSome branding was removed from both accounts. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatThe location of the accounts was set to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatPosts about cryptocurrency appeared on the profiles. (dublinlive.ie)
  • whatThe accounts @GardaInfo and @GardaTraffic were taken over in a breach related to cryptocurrency. (rte.ie)
  • whatSome posts appeared targeted at individual users but were visible to hundreds of thousands of followers. (rte.ie)
  • whereThe location on both accounts was changed to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (rte.ie)
  • whenThe breach occurred on Wednesday night, 14 October 2026. (rte.ie)
  • investigationThe Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is carrying out investigations (rte.ie, garda.ie)
  • investigationThe security breach is now subject to a criminal investigation (rte.ie, garda.ie)
  • investigationGardaí warned the public not to interact with any content posted on the accounts. (dublinlive.ie)
  • investigationThe Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is investigating the breach. (rte.ie)
  • otherThe accounts are used to engage with the public and issue public service information (rte.ie)
  • otherGarda Headquarters confirmed no unauthorised access to internal garda systems (rte.ie)
  • otherThere has been no loss or impact on any garda data (rte.ie)
  • otherControl of the official Garda X accounts @gardainfo and @gardatraffic has been re-established. (garda.ie)
  • otherThe X accounts will remain inactive for the coming days. (garda.ie)
  • otherThe unauthorised access occurred only on the X accounts on the X platform. (garda.ie)
  • otherThere was no unauthorised access to any Garda systems. (garda.ie)
  • otherThere is no loss or impact on any Garda controlled data. (garda.ie)
  • otherGardaí are not making any further comment at this time. (garda.ie)
  • otherThe breach was only on X, with no unauthorised access to any garda systems and no loss or impact on garda-controlled data. (rte.ie)
  • otherThe @GardaTraffic account has 600,000 followers. (rte.ie)
  • otherThe @GardaInfo account has almost 300,000 followers and was changed to appear as a support account for a cryptocurrency wallet. (rte.ie)
  • otherA warning was attached to some posts from one profile due to being linked with another suspended account. (rte.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 16 Oct2026
    Reportedrte.ie, follow-up
    Gardaí regain control of official X accounts after hack

    First report of the hack and Gardaí regaining control of their official X accounts; investigation by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau is ongoing.

  2. 15 Oct2026
    Reporteddublinlive.ie, its first report
    Garda social media accounts hacked by crypto promoters

    Confirms hack details: branding removed, location set to Amsterdam, crypto posts appeared, combined following of over 900,000, no data exposed, Gardaí warning public not to interact with content.

  3. 15 Oct2026
    Reportedgarda.ie, its first report
    15/10/2026 Update Statement: An Garda Síochána X accounts

    Official Garda statement confirming re-establishment of X accounts, stating no access to Garda systems or data, and confirming the breach is now subject to a criminal investigation with no further comment at this time.

  4. 15 Oct2026
    Reportedrte.ie, first report
    Hacked garda social media accounts now retaken - gardaí

    First report of the hacking of the two garda X accounts and their subsequent retaking; the breach is now subject to a criminal investigation by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau.