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An EOD technician preps prior to entering the aircraft fuselage to inspect the scene. Rigorous checks are carried out to ensure the suit is adequately sealed. Irish Defence Forces

Defence Forces conduct exercise to help prepare for 'dirty bomb' attacks

This EU-funded project uses robots and unmanned aerial vehicles to help minimise the risk to operators while collecting physical evidence.

THE DEFENCE FORCES today held an exercise as part of a project to prepare them in the event of a chemical or nuclear attack.

The use of chemical agents in particular has been in the news recently after the attack in England on a former Russian double agent and his daughter. Sergei and Yulia Skripal were both hospitalised after being targeted with a nerve agent. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed this month that the nerve agent originally came from Russia.

An EU-funded research project involving the Defence Forces, NUI Galway and the Tyndall Institute recently passed a mid-term review that will allow their work to continue for another 12 months.

The project uses robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to help minimise the risk to operators while collecting physical evidence and preserving the chain of custody.

Img 1 EOD technicians approach the hazard site on a 'Gator' utility vehicle. Irish Defence Forces Irish Defence Forces

The Defence Forces said this work is fundamentally changing how chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) threats are assessed, while minimising the risk to the lives of crime scene investigators in “dirty bomb” type scenarios.

Members of the project team today visited the Defence Forces Young Officers course, who were taking part in a CBRN exercise in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.

Img 2 EOD technicians inspect the suspect substance and obtain samples for further analysis. Irish Defence Forces Irish Defence Forces

The purpose of the visit was to allow them to get an insight into what the operators and end user requirement would be in the event of a “dirty bomb” type scenario.

“The increasing complexity we are facing means that we need to find collaborative solutions to get the best solutions,” Defence Forces Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett said.

He said the project is “a shining example of how end users, researchers and the private sector can combine to answer our wicked problems”.

Img 4 The EOD technician spots the suspect substance and prepares to deal with it. Irish Defence Forces Irish Defence Forces

Lieutenant Colonel Ray Lane, who is the Defence Forces lead on the project, said it will fundamentally change how these scenarios are dealt with.

He also said it will minimise the risk to life, while maximising the use of technology, both robots and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“The result of this project will be a significantly enhanced capability in this area.”

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    Mute Ed
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    May 19th 2021, 9:48 AM

    Unbeknownst? Time for these companies to be hammered for such “errors”.

    239
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    Mute John Murphy
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    May 19th 2021, 10:20 AM

    @Ed: That’s usually the case in leaks. The company often gets alerted by people who suffered from the leak a year or so after the fact.
    BTW this site is a handy way to search the lists of publicly known leaks: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

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    Mute Eugene Norman
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    May 19th 2021, 2:47 PM

    @John Murphy: my iPhone told me I was owned when I tried to log into a website the other day and suggested I change the password there. A government website as well but not in Ireland.

    2
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    Mute SteveBuzzard
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    May 19th 2021, 10:19 AM

    “700,000 documents dating from 2014 to 2017 were stored in the folder, including some passports, drivers’ licenses and compliance-related forms”

    So nothing is private any more, all our private information is now floating around cyber space freely available to criminals.
    Will anybody be held to account?? will customers be compensated?? Joke of a country, can do nothing right. Those responsible should be face criminal charges.

    113
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    Mute Eugene Norman
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    May 19th 2021, 2:48 PM

    @SteveBuzzard: what’s the “country” got to do with a private company. They should have deleted most of this info though, according to GDPR rules.

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    Mute Phil Redmond
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    May 19th 2021, 3:20 PM

    @Eugene Norman: Not true. GDPR does not put any time scale on how long companies have to hold data. The Data Protection Act requires them to delete it 7 years after the end of the relationship with the individual so actually very little of it should have been deleted

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    Mute Franky Jefferson
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    May 19th 2021, 10:14 AM

    I thought they are supposed to delete verification documents after a certain period… Not keep them.

    Prosecutions? I imagine not of course.

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    May 19th 2021, 10:22 AM

    @Franky Jefferson: yeah, all customer data can only be stored for a maximum of 6 months.

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    Mute Phil Redmond
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    May 19th 2021, 10:28 AM

    @Peter Cavey: Incorrect. GDPR does not put a time frame how long companies can hold you’re data. The Data Protection Act requires companies to delete data after 7 years

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    Mute M. Murphy
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    May 19th 2021, 2:26 PM

    @Peter Cavey: Incorrect. Best not comment without correct facts

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    Mute Eugene Norman
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    May 19th 2021, 3:02 PM

    @M. Murphy: People do be getting very heated about GDPR.

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    Mute Marty Lawless
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    May 19th 2021, 9:45 AM

    Was it leaky Leo

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    Mute Biscuits Patinkin
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    May 21st 2021, 9:32 AM

    @Marty Lawless: who?? Oh.. you mean Leako Varadkar

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    Mute D. Memery
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    May 19th 2021, 10:20 AM

    The statement that there is no evidence that the data was accessed rings false when you consider it was an external, independent company that found the data publicly accessible. Unless the server itself was publicly available on the cloud, a serious data security error in of itself, the data had to be accessed for it to have become publicly available.

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    Mute SteveBuzzard
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    May 19th 2021, 10:20 AM

    “700,000 documents dating from 2014 to 2017 were stored in the folder, including some passports, drivers’ licenses and compliance-related forms”

    So nothing is private any more, all our private information is now floating around cyber space freely available to criminals.
    Will anybody be held to account?? will customers be compensated?? Joke of a country, can do nothing right. Those responsible should face criminal charges.

    13
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    Mute Phil Redmond
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    May 19th 2021, 10:38 AM

    @SteveBuzzard: Oh FFS don’t be so dramatic. Yes they will be held accountable. The company will be investigated and sanctioned by the Central Bank and the Data Protection Commissioner. As for compensation unless there is evidence that anyone has suffered a loss or damage as a result of the leak then no they will not be compensated as there is no loss or damage to be compensated for

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    Mute Dav Nagle
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    May 19th 2021, 10:46 AM

    The more info one has to provide the greater the leak! Convoluted EU nonsensical process management at its finest.

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    Mute Jim O Brien Tech
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    May 19th 2021, 1:45 PM

    Did you purposely forget to mention the Irish times to plug our own.

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