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. 22125Cyber attack (data breach) · Co. Cork · 5 Feb 2023

MTU seeks extension of injunction over cyber attack at High Court

Munster Technological University returned to the High Court on 2 March 2023 to seek an extension of an injunction preventing hackers calling themselves Alpha or BlackCat, believed to be based in Russia, from publishing 6GB of data stolen from its IT system. Mr Justice Brian O'Moore granted the extension, noting that social media platforms including Meta, Twitter, Reddit and Pinterest had been cooperating with the university to prevent the data from being widely published.

  1. Reported14 Feb
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In court14 Feb
    2 reports
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
29 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatMTU is the latest victim of BlackCat, a sophisticated ransomware gang (irishtimes.com)
  • whatMore than 6GB of internal files were stolen from MTU (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe stolen data includes huge amounts of personal data relating to staff and students (irishtimes.com)
  • whatBlackCat locks computer systems and threatens to publish confidential data if a ransom is not paid (irishtimes.com)
  • whatBlackCat uses a modern programming language to infiltrate its target that evades many current cyber defences (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe MTU attack appears to be the first big attempt by BlackCat to extort an Irish institution (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe college refused to pay the ransom demanded by the hackers (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThe hackers call themselves Alpha or BlackCat (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThe attackers claim to have accessed files including employee records, payments, benefits, gender pay gap reporting, student assistance funds, scholarships, pension details, HR staff files, and staff contract reviews (thejournal.ie)
  • whereBlackCat's members are based in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe hackers are believed to be based in Russia or another former Soviet state (thejournal.ie)
  • whenSuspicious activities on MTU's IT system were first detected on 5 February 2023 (thejournal.ie)
  • investigationInitial investigations into the MTU cyber attack indicate much of the leaked personal information may not relate to students. (rte.ie)
  • investigationHarris is being regularly briefed by MTU, An Garda Síochána and the National Cyber Security Centre. (rte.ie)
  • courtMr Justice Brian O'Moore granted the extension of the injunction sought by MTU (thejournal.ie)
  • otherBlackCat has been in operation for less than two years and has racked up hundreds of victims (irishtimes.com)
  • otherBlackCat is a digital gun for hire that criminals pay to target organisations on their behalf (irishtimes.com)
  • otherBlackCat will carry out attacks in exchange for as little as 10 per cent of the eventual ransom (irishtimes.com)
  • otherBlackCat has been known to ask for up to €1.5 million in some cases (irishtimes.com)
  • otherBlackCat is made up of hackers from Darkside and ReVile (irishtimes.com)
  • otherReVile was dismantled by Russian police in January of the previous year (irishtimes.com)
  • otherMaciej Makowski is a former member of the Garda cybercrime unit and a cybersecurity expert (irishtimes.com)
  • otherHarris described the finding as a provisional view and said the investigation is ongoing. (rte.ie)
  • otherCyber security advice will be made available to MTU students very shortly. (rte.ie)
  • otherThe advice will comprise general good cyber security advice such as changing passwords and being vigilant to phishing scams. (rte.ie)
  • otherHarris said MTU responded in an appropriate and correct way to what is a criminal act. (rte.ie)
  • otherThe criminal gang's attempt to extort money had not worked and had failed. (rte.ie)
  • otherSocial media providers including Reddit, Pinterest and Meta cooperated with MTU to prevent data publication on their platforms (thejournal.ie)
  • otherMTU remains in contact with the Data Protection Commission, An Garda Síochána, and the National Cyber Security Centre (thejournal.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 2 Mar2023
    In courtthejournal.ie, first report
    Social media companies assisting MTU in wake of cyber attack, High Court hears

    Reports the High Court hearing where MTU obtained an extension of its injunction; details the hackers' ransom note, the 6GB of data released on the Darkweb, the cooperation of social media platforms, and the suspected link to the Conti ransomware group.

    suspect, non-irish (judged from name)
  2. 14 Feb2023
    Reportedrte.ie, follow-up
    Much of leaked MTU data 'may not relate to students'

    Minister Harris provides an update on the MTU cyber attack investigation, stating the leaked data may not relate to students, that the extortion attempt by the criminal gang had failed, and that cyber security advice will be made available to students shortly.

  3. 14 Feb2023
    In courtirishtimes.com, follow-up
    Munster Technological University cyberattack the work of sophisticated ransomware group

    Provides detailed background on the BlackCat ransomware group, including its origins (members from Darkside and ReVile), its modus operandi (two-pronged lock-and-publish plus DoS threats), its RaaS business model, and confirms the MTU attack as its first major attempt to extort an Irish institution.