'Very high likelihood' of further cyberattacks on Irish IT systems

Micheál Martin said the cyberattack risk has 'increased exponentially'. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

Cyberattacks, damage to undersea cables, and disruption to oil supplies have all been identified as key risks for Ireland, a new Government report has found.

The National Risk Assessment for Ireland 2023 has warned that there is a very high likelihood of further cyberattacks against Irish communications and IT systems, with concerns about sabotage of underwater telecoms and energy pipelines becoming more pressing.

In recent years, Ireland has been hit with multiple cyberattacks, including the large-scale attack against the HSE in May 2021 which saw confidential medical documents published online.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that the risk of a cyberattack has “increased exponentially” since the war in Ukraine began, calling such attacks a “significant concern”.

He cited the cost of such attacks, particularly the HSE cyberattack.

“We experienced our own cyberattacks on our health service, which basically paralysed our health service for a number of weeks, entailing extraordinary human costs and financial costs,” Mr Martin said.

Regarding subsea cables, Mr Martin said the issue was around co-operation with “like-minded” countries, and not all about ensuring there are ships patrolling Irish waters.

“It’s also investment in intelligence. Everyone has an idea that it’s all about ships. Yes, we need more ships on the ocean and we have an issue with recruitment and retention, but the more fundamental issue actually is around collaborating with others,” Mr Martin said.

Asked if Ireland was vulnerable to undersea cable attacks, Mr Martin said: “We’re no more vulnerable than anybody else.

The key to it is to collaborate with others, to be alert, to be attentive and to communicate.

Alongside identifying risks to undersea infrastructure, the report also highlights the potential impact of disruption to energy sources, including oil, gas, and electricity disruption.

Mr Martin also flagged concerns about potential interference in Irish elections, saying that there have been incidents in other jurisdictions previously.

“There could be more immediate risks,” Mr Martin said, citing the establishment of the Electoral Commission, which will be empowered to deal with misinformation and disinformation.

“Now we have to build up the capacity of the Electoral Commission in relation to any risks to our electoral process,” he said.

However, he said that there is no evidence of any interference taking place at this stage in advance of both the local and European elections in June.

Professor Caroline McMullan, who headed up DCU’s Futureproof-IE project, said that both experts and the general public have greater awareness of the risks to Ireland’s supply chains following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Professor Caroline McMullan said there is greater awareness of the risks to Ireland’s supply chains since the war in Ukraine began. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

“We did see a greater awareness of the fragility of our supply chains, whether that’s food, medicines, energy, oil, so people were more aware of that,” Professor McMullan said.

“They were more aware of perhaps the changing nature of warfare, so the use of drones or the use of cyberattacks would certainly have been more prominent in everybody’s mind.”

Alongside risks to infrastructure, the report highlights an increased risk to people from antimicrobial-resistant infections, which have become more likely to emerge since the previous risk assessment in 2020.

Professor McMullan said that these infections had previously been an “emerging risk” but focus groups have listed such infections as the “top risk facing us at the moment”.