Irish Examiner view: Hybrid threats, hybrid answers

On one thing we can all agree. Much of the conflict and crime being carried out in the third decade of the 21st century is taking place online, and we will need the right kind of soldiers and law enforcers to combat it.

Just this week the Garda security service reaffirmed its commitment to tackling dangers to the State posed by hybrid threats from hostile nations and groups. 

Yet the skills needed to defend ourselves from the bad actors of the global network are in very high demand from tech companies and, indeed, from criminal gangs and terrorists.

We should pay attention to the travails of the Metropolitan Police which warned this week that it was losing its battle to hire specialist officers to tackle cybercrime because of the terms being offered from the private sector.

This is not the first time that governments have faced this challenge. The difference on this occasion is that matters of huge national security and stability are involved. 

We may increasingly have to implement ongoing and innovative collaborations between commercial enterprises and state agencies if citizens are to be protected with the best skills at our disposal.