The Irish embassy in Kyiv was one of 22 foreign embassies in the city to be targeted by Russian hackers, as part of a "phishing" exercise that involved an advertisement for a used BMW car. The attack was unsuccessful, and the Irish embassy's systems have not been compromised.

Ossian Smyth, the Minister of State who deals with matters of cybersecurity, weighed in. “I have been reassured by the Department of Foreign Affairs that they successfully intercepted the attack and that no harm was done,” he told the public. “The department also informed the National Cyber Security Centre about it once it happened.”

The attack involved an advertisement for a used BMW car, in which the Russian operatives repurposed a legitimate ad so that it could be used in a phishing attack. When recipients of the email followed the link given to see better pictures of the car, it downloaded invisible malware onto their system that gave the hackers access to their IT systems.

The group of hackers known to be responsible are called Cozy Bear, a group that has been linked to Russia's foreign intelligence service.

"There are constant attempts attacking Irish networks and critical infrastructure, both at home and abroad," continued Smyth. "The National Cyber Security Centre would be aware of about 2,000 of these each year. It’s a constant thing that they have to deal with."

Part of Ireland's non-military aid to Ukraine is cybersecurity, the shared resources within the last year worth about €1 million. Russia has been known to carry out cyber-attacks on countries around the world, including the United States and the UK. "It is an important thing,” said Smyth about the aid, as Ukraine undergoes attacks from Russia both physically and digitally.