Ireland has a moral duty to boost its defence capability against cyberattacks and disinformation

Ireland’s data centre boom means we host a wildly disproportionate amount of the world's data. These centres and social media companies are on the front lines of the global battle for democracy, writes Ross Frenett

Ross Frenett: "Social media giants are the oil companies of the 21st century, massive data mining operations with the possibility to do great harm if not well run and properly regulated."

War is changing.

Democracy is not just threatened by despots sending tanks and hapless conscripts across borders to seize territory, but by digital armies dispatched by hostile actors to undermine our societal cohesion, spread disinformation and inflame tensions.

These digital armies do not travel by motorways and dirt tracks, but they do need infrastructure to travel. They use the data centres, social media platforms and infrastructure that underpins a well-functioning internet. Much of this infrastructure is based right here in Ireland.

Ireland’s data centre boom means we host a wildly disproportionate amount of the world's data. Data centres accounted for as much of our energy consumption in 2022 as households, and the government has indicated they will continue to grow. We proudly host the largest technology companies on Earth; Tik Tok, Facebook, and Twitter all call Ireland home. 

However, we can no longer pretend that these companies are cute scrappy little startups with free M&Ms for staff, generating guilt-free income for Ireland. Social media giants are the oil companies of the 21st century, massive data mining operations with the possibility to do great harm if not well run and properly regulated. 

Amnesty International has accused Facebook’s algorithms of directly promoting ethnic cleansing against Rohingya in Myanmar. In India, misinformation spread on WhatsApp has led to public lynchings. The data centres and social media companies based in Ireland are on the front lines of the global battle for democracy.

Defence Forces

Given that our economy is reliant on companies such as these, that abuse and misuse of these platforms is a threat not only to our democracy but to the lives and freedoms of those in the global south, one would be forgiven for assuming that the Irish Defence Forces is a leader in detecting and countering these threats. On the contrary. The shameful neglect of the Defence Forces under successive governments means that we are laggards in this regard.

The Defence Forces is home to proud institutions such as the Equitation School and the School of Music. These represent venerable military traditions, and have served the State well. They recruit talented musicians and grooms, who then undergo a Military Induction course before being assigned a rank and a unit. This type of specialist recruitment is also used to fill a limited number of other roles such as doctors, dentists, engineers, and engine room artificers for the Naval Service.

However, nowhere on this list are IT specialists, data scientists, experts in information warfare, or behaviourists. If a qualified band conductor and a qualified data scientist were to visit the careers section of the Defence Forces website today, only one would find an advert targeting their skillset. This must change.

Last year’s Commision on the Defence Forces recommended creating specialist Reserve Defence Forces posts in high‐skilled units such as cyber. There are international models we can follow to achieve this. 

Irish soldiers traveling overseas to mitigate the threats posed by explosive ordnance is right and proper, but Ireland does not manufacture landmines.

The UK recently established the 77th Brigade, a hybrid unit of regulars and reservists with specialist skills to combat new forms of warfare in the information environment. This unit directly recruits computer scientists, content creators and even influencers. The German Bundeswehr has established a Cyber Innovation Hub, which has directly recruited from firms such as Google.

Drawing on the incredible talent in our private sector, Ireland should create world-class specialist units to understand and defend against these emerging threats. This capability should not only be put to use to defend our State, but deployed overseas, under UN mandate, to build the capacity of partners to navigate this new environment and defend democracy. 

The Defence Forces have a long and proud history of capacity building overseas including EUTM in Mali, and the UNMAS (United Nations Mine Action Service) which works to mitigate the threats posed by explosive ordnance. 

Irish soldiers travelling overseas to mitigate the threats posed by explosive ordnance is right and proper, but Ireland does not manufacture landmines. Ireland does manufacture and profit handsomely from the digital systems which threaten democracy and stability worldwide. We have a duty to mitigate those harms.

The current Forum on International Security Policy is well timed, given the radically changing nature of the global security situation, the recent recommendations for radical change by Commission on the Defence Forces, and the emergence of new threats. It is much more than a binary choice between NATO alignment or steady as she goes, but a real opportunity for us to think boldly about what ethical and effective defence policy should look like in the modern world. 

When Digital Peacekeepers proudly wearing the uniform of Óglaigh na hÉireann, recruited from the glittering towers of silicone docks are dispatched to defend emerging democracies in years to come, we may look back at this moment as where it began. Ireland can lead. Ireland must lead.

• Ross Frenett is CEO of Moonshot a group that combats disinformation and terrorism, and the co-chair of the EU’s RAN Communications working group