Food could 'start to disappear from shop shelves within three days' if there was cyber attack on Dublin Port

'It was noted in particular that Dublin Port represents a significant single point of failure in the national supply chain, and that food would start to disappear from shop shelves within three days if there was a material adverse event there,' the report said.

Food and other essential goods could start disappearing from the shelves within three days if there were a serious attack or disruption at Dublin Port, according to Irish company bosses.

A new report said the Irish tech sector cited attempts by intelligence services from Russia, China, and India "to place operatives in their organisations”.

Based on consultations with senior representatives of industry and business, a report compiled by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) and Deloitte said:

• The growing use generally of hybrid warfare — such as disinformation, espionage, sabotage, assassination plots, and attacks on critical infrastructure by hostile states — is putting “Ireland’s social wellbeing, economic prosperity, and the lives of individuals at risk”;
• Because of the “large numbers” of Irish organisations involved in countering Russian cyber threats in Ukraine and implementing sanctions on Russian officials, it is possible there could be threats to these organisations or their people;
• Without greater Government investment in security, multinational corporations may look towards other EU countries that provide a “more secure environment” to locate operations; 
• Ireland should use the new EU defence investment funds to provide opportunities to Irish ‘dual use’ (civilian and military) technologies, such as cybersecurity, robotics, AI and satellite;
• Government should remove the current legal ban on State enterprise agencies supporting dual-use companies;
• Plans to introduce a new State system for security clearances needs to be “expedited”.

Entitled ‘Secure Together’, the report said almost 90% of Irish companies had suffered financial loss or operational disruption due to cyberattacks.

“The growing deployment of the tools of hybrid warfare, including disinformation, espionage, sabotage, assassination plots, and attacks on critical infrastructure by hostile States, put Ireland’s social wellbeing, economic prosperity, and the lives of individuals at risk,” it said.

It said participants in the consultation expressed concern “at the vulnerability” of Irish port infrastructure because of the worsening international security situation.

One industry representative highlighted national supply chains and said the country could face an “existential risk” if it ran out of essential foodstuffs and commodities in a serious cyber or hybrid attack.

“It was noted in particular that Dublin Port represents a significant single point of failure in the national supply chain, and that food would start to disappear from shop shelves within three days if there was a material adverse event there," the report said.