Neutrality 'not relevant' when it comes to protecting Ireland from attacks on subsea cables
The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats is examining the threat to transatlantic cables off the coast of Ireland, especially after the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the North Sea last September. Picture: Rune Dyrholm/Armed Forces of Denmark via AP
Ireland’s neutrality is “not relevant” when it comes to protecting the country from hostile attacks on critical subsea cables in or near Irish-controlled waters, the head of a European intelligence body has said.
Jori Arvonen said technology cables are potential targets not because they connect to Ireland or are in Irish waters but because they connect to, and are crucial for, many European countries.
Mr Arvonen is steering board chair of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) and was speaking during a two-day visit to Ireland, where he met Government departments involved in countering hybrid threats.
Hybrid threats include campaigns aimed at influencing and destabilising political and societal cohesion, cyber attacks on key State and economic infrastructures and efforts to interfere with the supply of energy and technology.
Speaking at a briefing organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Arvonen said all these threats arise for Ireland, as they do for most European countries.
Ireland joined the centre last January.
He said the prevalence of major tech companies in Ireland “may draw attention” of hostile states or their proxies to either directly influence Ireland or indirectly influence other countries.
The Helsinki-based Hybrid CoE has 33 participating states from the EU or Nato or both and is a “network organisation” providing expert analysis of hybrid threats and a platform for cooperation and exercises.
“We are a ‘think and do tank’,” Mr Arvonen said. “We contribute to the understanding of threats and we support countries to tackle threats. We also have a mandate to facilitate EU-Nato cooperation in hybrid threat domain.”
He said the centre cooperates with other countries, such as Ukraine, and that the centre is “mainly focused” on Russia and China and “proxies”, such as hackers and criminal gangs, used by them.
Mr Arvonen said the centre is examining the threat to transatlantic cables off the coast of Ireland, especially after the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the North Sea last September.
The explosions have been blamed on Russia, a claim the country denies.
“The adversaries [behind the attacks] are probably looking somewhere else already and, of course, undersea technology cables are one obvious place to look into," Mr Arvonen said.
“So, it’s an obvious critical infrastructure that needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about our threat assessment and, in the Irish case, that definitely is something very, very relevant.”
Mr Arvonen did not believe Ireland’s neutrality would protect Ireland as the transatlantic cables passing through or near Irish waters were connecting to many European countries, not just Ireland.
“On neutrality, the importance of undersea technology is not only important for Ireland — they have wider international importance," he said. "So, from that angle only, neutrality is not a relevant point in my opinion.”
He said he and his colleagues were learning about the different kind of hybrid threats Ireland faces in their visit.
Mr Arvonen said during their visit they have learned that “Ireland is getting more and more prepared” like the rest of Europe and that public awareness was part of that.
He said economic resilience was of “particular interest” for Ireland and that a “very obvious” issue was maritime security, referencing Russian military exercises off the coast.
He said he was “absolutely convinced” that Ireland will bring expertise and experience on maritime security to the centre and that Ireland was showing “good preparedness” in relation to cyber security, citing the attack by a Russian cyber gang on the HSE.
Mr Arvonen said “disinformation” and the threat it posed to electoral integrity and societal cohesion was a threat to Europe and “an obvious interest to Ireland”.
Russia and China were “very, very active” on social media, he said, adding: “There are new kinds of technology and new kinds of communication methods that provides a tool for our adversaries to influence — to influence public opinion, influence our political discussion and hence political decision-making and the polarisation of our nations.”
Asked if participating countries had a dedicated agency or government unit to tackle hybrid threats, Mr Arvonen said there were a range of approaches.
He said governments and their branches operate “in silos” but warned: “We face a threat that does not recognise the silos or different governments branches. Therefore, it's important to have a holistic answer to that threat.”
Hybrid CoE head of international relations Rasmus Hindren said there were 33 participating countries and almost as many practices depending on their constitution and administration.
“But we are also seeing some trends towards a bit more centralised approaches, which makes a lot of sense because that would support getting a full situational awareness of potential threats and would also allow more effective decision-making," he said.
When asked what department or agency was leading Ireland's efforts to tackle hybrid threats, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "The Department of Foreign Affairs coordinates Ireland’s national engagement with the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, working in close cooperation with relevant Government Departments and Agencies, which have responsibility for hybrid threats within their own areas of responsibility."
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