Irish Examiner view: We must build up a defence against the dark web

Our cybersecurity body is understaffed and overworked, and lacks the structures and laws to do its job

The State needs a bulwark against bad forces operating on the dark web.

Our interview this week with the Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster made fascinating reading and no more so than when he described how his organisation was forced back into an analogue world following this spring’s ransomware attack.

A body which handles 60,000 referrals per year needs computer assistance and the forced return to pen and paper, and the powers of memory, were a salutary reminder of how things once were.

At the same time Professor Seamus O’Reilly of the Irish Cancer Society, who is also a medical oncologist at Cork University Hospital, has been warning over delays in treatment and care caused by the “profound” impact of the outage.

It is worrying then that the country’s cyber security body, the NCSC, is understaffed and overworked and lacks the structures and laws to do its job according to a report commissioned by the Government.

Huge demands

The centre was set up in 2011 but the demands placed upon it have increased hugely. Staffing, in a very competitive recruitment sector, is behind the numbers needed in an effective establishment. 

In addition, it has too much on its plate with responsibilities to advise external bodies, to manage incidents, and regulate cyber laws.

The first and third of these functions could surely be moved to a new entity and scrutineer. 

The State needs a bulwark against bad forces operating on the dark web and it needs that expertise in double time.