THE GARDA Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) has notified the Data Protection Commission following the discovery of an IT security “vulnerability”.

GSOC said that the body was alerted by a routine warning from the National Cyber Security Centre. 

A source said there had been no security attack and there was no breach similar to the HSE ransomware incident. 

A spokesperson said in a statement that the vulnerability was identified and immediate action was taken.

“The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) routinely reviews its IT security. As part of this process, we monitor alerts from Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and technology providers.

“In recent weeks, in a swift response to a NCSC General Advisory, GSOC conducted a review of the relevant IT systems. This review identified a potential vulnerability and working with the NCSC and an independent IT specialist a full examination was conducted of GSOC’s systems.

“This examination has identified no breach or loss of GSOC information or data,” the statement said. 

GSOC said that they were continuing to liaise with the NCSC and had notified the Data Protection Commission.

“GSOC takes the issue of security extremely seriously and has processes in place to deal quickly with incidents like this.

“Finally, as required, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) has been notified of the incident. The assistance of the NCSC in ensuring the integrity of GSOC’s systems has been invaluable in this matter,” the spokesperson added.