Dr. Eoin Byrne
Cluster Manager, Cyber Ireland
From the many potential threats to organisations, cyber incidents — such as data breaches and ransomware attacks — have gradually become more important risks as digital technologies have become integral to businesses.
Cyber resilience is the alignment of prevention, detection and response capabilities to manage, mitigate and move on from cyberattacks (Ponemon Institute). Companies, the insurance industry and analysts have been evaluating the main perceived risks for businesses.
Major threat to organisations
According to the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) ‘Global risks report 2023,’the threat of widespread cybercrime and vulnerabilities in cybersecurity are among the top 10 most severe risks facing businesses, governments and the public over the next decade.
These cyberattacks are predicted to impact all sectors and organisations from agriculture, water, financial systems, transport and energy infrastructure — to attacks on undersea or space-based communications infrastructure. This is evident at present from the Russian war on Ukraine targeting communications, financial websites and electricity grids.
Our vision is that Ireland can be a global leader in cybersecurity talent, innovation and solutions.
Growing cybersecurity demand
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw the rapid acceleration of digital transformation to maintain business continuity and service delivery. While this has brought many benefits and efficiencies, it has also opened up new security challenges, risks and vulnerabilities.
The need for cybersecurity and cyber resilience has never been greater. However, with the current economic downturn, companies are asking how they can do more with less, which will impact IT and cybersecurity budgets, particularly for SMEs. We must keep cybersecurity at the forefront of every business, government and citizen in Ireland: cyber resiliency is critical to business resiliency.
Cybersecurity in Ireland
Cyber Ireland is the national cybersecurity cluster organisation, set up in 2019 to support the growth of the cybersecurity sector in Ireland. The cluster is hosted at Munster Technological University, which was recently hit with a cyberattack in 2023, and has the backing of the Government including the National Cyber Security Centre.
Our vision is that Ireland can be a global leader in cybersecurity talent, innovation and solutions. From our ‘State of the Cyber Security Sector 2022’ report, we know that all the required ingredients are present. There are 490 companies in the sector employing almost 7,500 professionals, contributing €1.1 billion to the economy annually.
By 2030, the sector could support a further 10,000 jobs and contribute €2 billion in gross value added (GVA) annually. This vision requires a collaborative approach from industry, academia and the Government, to ensure Ireland is a safe and secure place to do business and becomes a leading cybersecurity hub globally.