The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has said that it is investigating a potential cybersecurity incident involving its systems.
The DFA said that it was notified by Ireland's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) yesterday about the possible security breach and is working closely with the NCSC to establish whether this allegation is authentic.
It follows reports online that a newly established hacking group claimed that it had 7GB of compromised data from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs for sale.
However it did not offer any proof and the group have been at the centre of other unsubstantiated claims online.
"At this point, there is no evidence of any breach of DFA ICT security infrastructure," the department said in a statement.
"The Department, in conjunction with the NCSC, will continue its investigation and, should any breach be identified, will address any issues that arise around information held by the Department."
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said there is no evidence of any breaches of any ICT sytems.
"It is right and proper that a hyper vigilant approach is taken to any potential breaches given the age and geopolitical times in which we live," he said.
