International cyber-security threat: Attacks are a wake-up call to tech hacks

WE have a highly skilled professional army trained to fight an unlikely invasion by foreign forces, and aa naval service and air corps to patrol peaceful seas and skies, but little by way of a functioning national cyber-security programme.

The real enemy, and the most tangible threat to the welfare of this country, lies offshore and it is invisible.

While Ireland has, so far, been spared the worst of the cyber-attack which has claimed 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries, we cannot afford to be in the least complacent. The most widespread and public malware outbreak for many years has managed to infect a huge number of large organisations.