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MAY 2021 SAW the largest ever known attack on a health service anywhere in the world. As the Health Service Executive continued to battle the Covid pandemic, its IT systems went down causing the cancellation of thousands of appointments.
This had profound implications for every one of those patients impacted and their families. It is not an exaggeration to say that the health of so many was put at risk and we don’t know the full effect of those cancellations and delays.
When I raised in the Seanad on 24 November the cost and implications of the attack, it was revealed that at that stage, it had cost at least €37.5 million had been spent on the ICT costs alone.
In December, we also saw a cyberattack on the Coombe Hospital, but it was one of many organisations targeted here in the last year. A Grant Thornton Report estimated that cybercrime is costing Ireland about €9.6 billion now annually. To put that in context, the Government’s Capital Building Programme for 2022 (the largest ever) is just slightly more, at €10 billion.
These attacks are going to likely to grow and become more common. Universities, government departments and agencies, businesses and non-governmental organisations are all being targeted by these criminals and terrorists.
I am quite frustrated that we don’t appear to take the issues of data protection and cybersecurity sufficiently seriously, and we are not adequately resourcing the agencies that are tasked with dealing with this area.
Underestimating the risk
As we move more of our personal details, financial transactions and indeed, almost all aspects of our lives into the digital space, we need to ensure that those tasked with regulating and policing and protecting have sufficient teeth and backup to do so.
There are welcome moves by Government to significantly increase resourcing for the National Cyber Security Centre: the National Development Plan provides for an increase in staff numbers from 25 to 70 over a five year period.
An Garda Síochána has made positive steps in establishing dedicated cybercrime teams. But as we have seen with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, we are underestimating the scale of the challenges with which we have to deal.
Many of the battles of the future will be fought out in cyberspace rather than with boots on the ground and we need to ensure that Ireland is well equipped to be able to deal with any attack.
Some of the attacks will simply be from mercenary criminals.
But these attacks could easily come from State-sponsored actors who may wish to disrupt aspects of Irish society or the economy to either send a message or for financial gain. I do not believe it far fetched that if Ireland took a particularly strong line on an issue at the UN Security Council for instance in the future, that there would not be an effort to impact on some critical infrastructure here.
In July, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and others all warned of Chinese engagement in cyber intellectual property theft. There have also been well-publicised concerns about foreign government attempts at interference in elections in democratic countries.
Ireland on our own will not be capable of dealing with external threats. Our foreign policy has always been based on multilateralism and on supporting global progress through co-operation and multilateral organisations. We should be rightly proud of being the only country to have taken part in every UN peacekeeping mission since they began over 60 years ago.
We need to engage at a regional and international level in facing down the threat of cybercrime and cyberterrorism.
Future-proofing
PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) was established in 2017 as part of the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Its purpose is to provide a “legal framework to jointly plan, develop and invest in shared capability projects, and enhance the operational readiness and contribution of armed forces.”
Member States can opt into any of the joint projects, which includes common training for defence forces.
It has no input into our domestic defence or foreign policy positions. We remain a non-aligned country and we are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (though in the context of any future discussions on a Shared Island, that issue will be on the table and we will have to have that debate). The deployment of any Irish troops on any mission requires the ‘triple lock’ of UN authorisation, Government sanction and Dáil approval.
Ireland is a member of PESCO, but perhaps the least active in the range of joint projects in which member states are engaged.
I strongly believe that Ireland should take an active part in all of the joint initiatives currently being undertaken or planned to develop a common European response to cyber attacks and the breaches of cybersecurity. We should take the lead on cyber peacekeeping.
This is a critical issue of national security and defence. We need to have a properly resourced National Cyber Security Centre, but we also need to cooperate with fellow democracies through the European Union and PESCO to jointly resist cyber attacks and cybercrime.
The attack on the HSE this year was a terrorist attack and we have to treat it as such. We cannot be neutral when our essential infrastructure is being undermined.
Malcolm Byrne is a Fianna Fáil Senator.
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Fascinating relationship, reconciliation is a powerful force for good.
If only the wicked old witch of the West had gone to bed when the bomb went off!
Only to have someone worse to come along in her place. That’s what happens anytime there’s a martyred leader. Don’t get me wrong though. I had a few drinks to celebrate when she died, as I’m sure many Irish and British people did. However, if she had been killed, we would probably still be waking up to news headlines of bombs in the North each week, having watchtowers and checkpoints still at the border, a few more Omaghs perhaps, and probably even harsher policies than the Witch herself had put into force.
The peace process, as we can now see owing to the declassified papers, was almost derailed by the bombing. If she had been killed, the process would have been entirely destroyed. On top of that, Thatcher would have become a martyr in the eyes of a huge chunk of British voters. The next election would have resulted in a large radical vote to the Tories, or worse even.
Just like how now, Le Front National in France is gaining because of recent attacks. People see France under threat, therefore they feel they must vote for the radical party to feel protected. In the 1980s, British people saw their country as under attack from Irish terrorists. Killing off the Prime Minister would just have made things a whole lot worse, both politically and in day-to-day life for the Irish in Britain in general.
The IRA never assassinated Paisley, despite his endless incendiary rants because that would make him a martyr.
Were they not concerned about making Thatcher a martyr, if the bomb had “succeeded?
Hi Willy. Most people in Britain could not stand Thatcher. She only got the vote because the alternative seemed so much worse. But Thatcher as a person made most people I knew, cringe.
Her replacement in my opinion was worse. John Major allowed in repressive and evil legislation that even Thatcher would balk at.
I refer of course to the Criminal Justice Laws which were a clear crime against democracy.
Nasty evil little man.
She’s a brave lady to do what she’s doing. I know I could never forgive someone who murdered a family member, I wouldn’t even see the point in meeting him.
Yes those are my sentiments exactly. She is an amazing woman and is doing something I certainly couldn’t do
@charles well said. Stephen the implicit threat of violence towards Charles speaks volumes for the person you are
I wonder would he have gone back and disarm the bomb if thatcher had cancel her plans of staying in the hotel .
Who’s name Dennis the IRA weren’t fighting any guerrilla war in your name they were fighting it fir the sub human conditions to Catholics had to endure in the north yes apartheid that many Irish in the south despised in South Africa and now in Israel but didn’t mind 4hrs up the road. Mandela is a hero here. Sometimes people will do things others cant so they do it and others don’t have to.
There was nothing in NI on par with South Africa, if you want to criticise Stormont then by all means do so but try and put a bit of honesty in your statements.
The south wasn’t exactly a utopia for protestants either after partition, their religion was constantly marginalised and hindered by the Catholic Church. They were murdered and forced of their land by republicans during the war of independence and civil war. If you are going to tell a story then tell it in its entirety.
And the PIRA were fighting to restore Irish national sovereignty across 32 counties, in other words “Brits out” and a full implementation of a socialist Irish Republic. That objective failed. If their original aim was to take their seats in Stormont and Leinster house (two parliaments they deemed illegal) then I’ll happily admit that they won, that wasn’t the case though.
When all this madness was taking place up here too the majority of Irish nationalists voted for the moderate SDLP so that gives an insight into the support the IRA and SF had, it only grew as a party after the guns were taken out of the equation, the PUL side was the same too, and political party aligned with terrorists got very little support, even the hardline DUP only gained more support when they decided to go the power sharing route along with SF. What’s in there now are two extremist parties that couldn’t agree on the colour of s****, they want their big share of the spoils but also want to live in the past. That’s why the peace process to date has been a farce.
Pure Horsedung B-Egan
Fleggerbot, you say the PUL didn’t align itself to terrorists? Well nationalists would say that’s bollox. The RUC, B specials, UDA, UDR…all at one time LEGAL organisations!!! You’re view of the north is so blinkered Flegger. Go read a history book.
All credit to the terrorist who admits that he regrets killing and maiming human beings. A pity a few ‘republican’ leaders don’t admit their own role and help the families of the disappeared deal with their loss.
Mary Lou was in nappies when that bomb went off.
Her Fuher wasn’t.
Mary Lou wore nappies when she was 15? Wow. (I googled her age on the Internet machine….What a time to be alive)
Considering that 800 yrs of constant conquest by invading armies and cultures the plight of the forgotten Catholics in the north will never be understood by a southern population spawned out of imperial forces it is the dna to the Irish to reject self defense and endorse oppression as as plain to see even to this day. The Celtic values died with the men and women who fought for it now all we have is the mindset of the generals lords and soldiers that stole it from us with the bible and sword. The IRA will never be accepted like Mandela’s organization were in South Africa because Mandela had the backing of the indigenous black oppressed population in Ireland the blood is Anglo Saxon Norman British.
What is Gerry Adams bloodlines B-Egan?
It is quite hypocritical that the original IRA General Collins, Cosgrove our first taoiseach, De Valera etc are Irelands eternal hero’s and those soldiers who were screwed by the treaty and forced into a gerrymandering sectarian state and continued to fight are deemed something else by people who by pure luck found themselves on the right side of a invisible line.
Every person in Ireland should ask themselves what if it was they who woke to find themselves on the wrong side of undemocratic line plucked out if the air and at the mercy of a bunch of sectarian bigots. Food for thought.
Antrim the Brits are gone the Catholics got the vote and now their power sharing with protestants the younger generation want to live in peace well except for a few knuckle draggers who don’t like the Irish flag been flown in Ireland. United Ireland will come some day . But Antrim British soldiers are gone and so is Loyalist domination. Job done.
IRA are gone too and no United Ireland, I know unionists are usually too stubborn to admit it but they should be happy enough with the outcome of the conflict. The British army were only here because of republican violence, all republicans had to do was cease it they really wanted the troops out. Hardly rocket science is it.
Aye it was that easy,catholics went the peaceful route remember?and when they did they were shot by the paras,what kicked off the troubles?bombay street,catholics being burnt out of their homes,the republic setting up refugee camps etc,its an unfortunate pill to swallow, violence may not have achieved the united ireland fought for,but it certainly got the british to the table,brute force is all they understand,collins fought them the exact same way,politics were never going to cut it with the brits
All the violence did was rip communities in NI apart, the majority of attacks resulted in ordinary Catholics and Protestants being hurt or killed, over 2000 civilians killed and 30000 hurt. All the IRA did was negotiate a way out of it for themselves because they were being hammered by the British intelligence services and their own communities who put pressure on them to cease. If this so called brute force put the British out then why am I still spending sterling, why is the Union flag still the official flag of NI? The British went nowhere, if you think they did then you are deluded or completely indoctrinated by republican preaching.
Try reading what i wrote,you can be part of the new age pc brigade concerning the north now if you want but the fact remains that the same as any country with an apartheid regime,there was legitimate resistance,and if you think the ruc being overhauled,one man getting one vote,the protestant parliment being forced to share power etc,could all have been changed by peaceful democracy then youre barking mad,the british state created the monster that was the pira,by their lies,false promises,inaction for 50 years in relation to northern ireland,and general classist arrogance
Fleggerbot, violence is inevitable when you create a two tiered gerrymandered statelet and allow it to be run in an absolute sectarian manner. Oppression breads resistance. You can only keep a people down for so long before they rise up. Bobby Sands was right. Our revenge IS the laughter of our children.
There would have still have been a Peace Process if Thatcher had of been killed-
Prince Charles uncle dicky was executed by the IRA- number 10 was bombed by the IRA- large sections of English city’s were obliterated in the Tonne bomb attacks-
Thatchers death would have made no difference-
Except to the sales of HB ice cream and Chivers jelly ;)
Hats off to this woman. I see him as a horrible person maybe trying to justify to himself his torment or maybe he feels nothing as most serial killers.
He didn’t kill my family and I still consider him and the ira vermin
Things like this give him and the IRA a degree of credibility when it’s no way deserved, the victims are the only ones deserving of credibility but more often than not they are classed as being lower than those than made them victims to begin with. It’s a funny old world sometimes.
the IRA’s degree of credibility comes from its victory against one of the biggest, richest and dirtiest armies in the world.
Flegger, the catholic people of the occupied 6 counties were victims for 50 years of horrible, sectarian oppression by unionists. Pat Magee took the fight right to the heart of the British establishment, an establishment who didn’t give 2 fooks about the situation in the north and used it as a playground for their military. A hero in my eyes. Just a shame Thatcher survived.
Sands vote was only so high because the SDLP agreed to pull their candidate out of the running, Sands stood as a nationalist unity candidate so it was either vote for him or vote for a Unionist, most nationalists obviously went for Sands.
No one went into the ballot box with them. They didn’t have to vote but they freely did. A vote doesn’t come with conditions attached.
The idea of election pacts are to maximise the vote for a certain candidate, the unionists do it too in order to try and beat SF, the UUP and DUP will let a Unionist independent stand instead of their own candidates, it takes the split out of the Unionist vote, same happened with Sands. It happens in elections all over the world.
I understand what a pact means, but it doesn’t mean you have to go along with it.
Well in the case of NI politics you have a choice, it’s vote Unionist, vote nationalist or don’t vote at all and let your opponent win instead.
Over 100,000 people attended Bobby Sands funeral.
Amazed my comment has been removed….why. Explain what I said that could offend anyone.
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