EU: One in three Irish small firms hit by cybercrime

12% of Irish SMEs who were victims of cybercrime said they had paid ransom money — double the EU average rate, research shows

A European Commission spokesperson said the pandemic posed additional cybersecurity challenges as many SMEs had to take new measures such as adopting cloud services, upgrading their internet service, improving their websites and enabling staff to work remotely.

Almost one in three small and medium firms in Ireland say they have experienced some form of cybercrime in the past year, according to the findings of a new EU-wide study.

Research commissioned by the European Commission shows that 32% of SMEs in the Republic reported some type of illegal online activity affecting their business in the previous 12 months.