LAST UPDATE | 18 Dec 2025

THE OFFICE OF the Ombudsman has taken its IT systems offline after being targeted in a “financially motivated” ransomware attack.

As a result of the attack, the Office is locked out of parts of its own system, which means it’ll take longer to deal with complaints.

Ger Deering, the Ombudsman, said however that there is “no evidence that any data has been taken”.

He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that as soon as they became aware that they couldn’t access they systems last Thursday, they contacted the National Cyber Security Center, which has since provided “extraordinary assistance”.

Since investigating, it has become clear that “the purpose of this exercise is to extract money”.

“Everything that happens in an IT system leaves a footprint or leaves evidence, and the forensic people that are working on this are giving us that assurance,” Deering said.

He also said there would be a criminal investigation.

Legal steps have also been taken to protect individuals, including an injunction from the High Court to restrict publication of any potentially stolen information. This, Deering says, is “out of an abundance of caution”.

“I do want to assure the people who use our services that we’re taking every step necessary to ensure that their data remains safe,” he said.

When the attack came to light yesterday, he apologised for inconvenience and concern caused.

Members of the public will not be able to access telephone services or online complaint forms while systems are offline, and the ability to progress existing complaints has been affected.

New complaints can be submitted via webform from today, though delays are expected in processing.

The Ombudsman’s office has assured complainants that once work on their cases begins, caseworkers will contact them directly.

The incident has also been notified to the Data Protection Commissioner and gardaí.