ADAPT Domestic Abuse Services

Summary

A domestic abuse service provider in Limerick experienced a cyber attack targeting part of its IT infrastructure. The organization engaged IT specialists to contain the incident, notified relevant stakeholders including the Data Protection Commissioner and law enforcement's cyber crime unit, and confirmed no disruption to victim support services during the attack. Preliminary investigations found no evidence of compromised data or financial losses, with restoration of affected systems underway while maintaining operational continuity for critical assistance programs.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

On March 15, 2022, ADAPT Domestic Abuse Services, a Limerick-based provider of support services for domestic abuse victims, experienced a cyber attack targeting a portion of its IT infrastructure. The organization promptly notified Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner of the breach, initiating formal regulatory disclosure procedures. ADAPT’s senior management team immediately engaged IT specialists to contain the incident, commencing mitigation efforts within days of the attack’s discovery. Concurrently, the organization reported the incident to An Garda Síochána’s Cyber Crime Unit, facilitating a criminal investigation into the attack’s origins and perpetrators. Despite the operational disruption to specific IT systems, ADAPT confirmed that all frontline services for domestic abuse survivors remained fully operational throughout the incident, with no degradation in support availability for service users.

Preliminary investigations by ADAPT and its technical partners found no evidence of compromised data stored within the affected IT systems, nor any indication of financial losses stemming from the attack. Restoration efforts focused on safely rebuilding impacted systems while maintaining service continuity, with security protocols guiding the recovery process. ADAPT maintained proactive communication with service users, staff, and stakeholders regarding incident developments, committing to provide further updates as restoration progressed. The organization did not disclose technical specifics regarding the attack vector, intrusion methods, or potential threat actors involved. No ransomware demands, data exfiltration claims, or public leaks of sensitive information were reported in connection with the incident during the immediate aftermath.

Sources

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