'Ireland has to co-operate to counter cyberattacks' – Forum

National Cyber Security Centre director Richard Browne told the forum that the NCSC works with the Defence Forces, gardaí, and with international partners, to counter cyberattacks. Picture: Larry Cummins 

Cyberattacks will keep increasing and the country’s military, along with State departments and private industry, must prepare to combat them through co-operation with national and international partners.

That was the message from a panel of experts who addressed the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, including Irish Army Brigadier General Seán White, who is a director of cyberdefence for EU military staff in Brussels.

He said EU countries need closer co-operation on cybersecurity, but pointed out that the EU does collaborate with Nato with “exchange of concepts” and “participation in cyberdefence exercises”.

The officer said new cyber threats and vulnerabilities are coming up an almost daily basis and in future conflicts cyberattacks “will become more common”. He said in terms of the Defence Forces, security shields from cyberattacks are vital to assure “force protection” for troops on the ground.

Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin said the ransomware attack on the HSE highlighted the cyber threat. 

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) director Richard Browne said the first cyberattack in this country was in 1998 and since then they have come from criminal gangs seeking money and foreign-based actors putting out disinformation and seeking to destabilise democracies.

To combat attacks, he said the NCSC works with the Defence Forces, gardaí, and with international partners.

Caitríona Heinl, executive director at the Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy, said democratic nations are beginning to see co-operation as the only way forward due to increasing risks “in the scale and severity” of attacks, especially on critical infrastructure operated by technology.

Chris Johnson, who works with the UK National Cyber Advisory Board and is based in Belfast, said cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

He said computer security defences critical to national security and infrastructure need to be upgraded continuously as hackers now use “tampering” methods to change even such things as transport timetables.

A panel at the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy at UCC were: moderator Louise Richardson: Réiseal Ní Chéilleachair, Concern; Renata Dwan, Chatham House;  Neil Melvin, Royal United Services Institute; and Brigid Laffan, Emeritus Professor, European University Institute. Picture: Larry Cummins

Mr Johnson said the world’s military needs to have a radical rethink about what may happen in future.

He said Ireland has a huge number of multinational data centres which bring very welcome employment but if compromised by attacks it will potentially have worldwide repercussions.

The forum heard Declan Power, a former Irish soldier and now a security analyst, say if Ireland wants to make a difference in cases of peace-keeping, that sometimes means we have to work with Nato and the EU.

Concern’s head of international advocacy Réiseal Ní Chéilleachair said: 

Ireland, both the State and its people, has been a respected contributor to humanitarian assistance and development co-operation for many decades. 

"Building on our experience and history, we must retain this vision of a more equal, sustainable, and peaceful world.”