Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021
11. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the level of preparedness in Ireland to deal with the cybersecurity space in future conflict zones, domestically and internationally, given that increased connectivity means cybersecurity will be a key front in any future conflict zones. [34846/21]
View answerWhat is the level of preparedness in the State to deal with the cybersecurity space in future conflict zones, be they domestically and internationally, given that increased connectivity means cybersecurity will be a key front in any future conflict zones?
This is a very important question. My colleague the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, retains overall responsibility for cybersecurity at a national level but, of course, the response to cyber threats is a whole-of-government challenge with important inputs in the security domain from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces.
As we have seen with the cyberattack on the HSE, cybersecurity is an issue about which we all need to be very concerned. For national security reasons, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the nature of the HSE cyberattack at this time, but it does illustrate how vital it is we take cybersecurity very seriously.
Ireland ranks among the leading EU member states in terms of the uptake and use of digital technologies. These technologies play a central role in supporting our economic and social life. Ireland's geographic position, our open economy and our EU membership mean we now host a large amount of data and economic activity. Covid-19 also means people are relying on technology more than ever to stay connected. The development of the information and communications technology that supports all this activity introduces a new set of complex and evolving risks. Infrastructure of any kind attached to the Internet is vulnerable to threats from anywhere in the world.
Disruption to our digital assets and critical infrastructure brings significant economic costs and undermines trust and confidence in them. Threats emanate from individuals and from nation states and can have national security implications. It is vital we work closely with our partners in the European Union on cybersecurity issues, and I welcome the proposal made last week by the European Commission to build a new joint cyber unit to tackle the rising number of serious cyber incidents impacting public services, businesses and the lives of citizens across the EU. The proposed joint cyber unit represents an opportunity to bring together cybersecurity communities, including civilian, law enforcement, diplomatic and cyber defence communities. The Government will be examining this proposal in depth since, while Ireland welcomes it, it represents a potentially very substantial requirement for additional resourcing, both in terms of financial resources and skill sets, on behalf of member states.
I thank the Minister.
An ever-increasing amount of activity is being conducted online. Certainly, conflicts and threats will also continue to grow in this arena. As Minister for Defence of a contributing country to UN peacekeeping and peace enforcing missions, is the Minister confident that training and resources are available in our Defence Forces to adapt to this new reality? I draw the attention, or perhaps the memory, of the Minister to the committee meeting we had on the Estimates. I put it to the Minister that the amount being budgeted for technology was not reflective of modern defence forces. Given that we have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, GDP spend on defence in the EU, how does the Minister see the additional costs of this European fund and our growing need being financed?
While the primary role of the Defence Forces with regard to cybersecurity relates to the defence and security of their own networks and systems, the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces are committed to participating under the leadership of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the delivery of measures to improve the cybersecurity of the State. This is being done in line with the programme for Government commitment to implement the national cybersecurity strategy, recognising the potential and important role of the Defence Forces. This is why officials in the Department and members of the Defence Forces work so closely with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and other Departments and agencies to support measures to deal with these challenges. I want to highlight that at present, a member of the Defence Forces is seconded to the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn in Estonia.
The issues the Deputy raised at the committee and that she has raised again today are very much central to the consideration of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces. I have spoken to the chair about this and I expect the commission to come back with some very clear recommendations on cybersecurity because we know this is an evolving, developing and increasing threat all the time and we have to have a response capacity and infrastructure to deal with it.
I am not sure I have complete confidence in waiting for the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces to report on something like this before taking more concrete steps. This is a really serious issue. If there has ever been anything of a conflict zone with clearly defined borders it is gone. It has been consigned to history, as has conflict between two opposing sides. We now have zones where there are multiple players, whether street gangs or organised gangs controlling food and water distribution in areas of conflict through cyber networks. This is something of which we need to be very mindful because as their capabilities increase we seem to be playing catch up all the time and this is just not good enough. I take what the Minister said earlier about national security. If we could skirt around this issue the Minister will take my question. Given the recent attack on the HSE, will the Minister and his Government partners commit to a full cyber risk assessment of all State infrastructure assets?
There are certain things to which I cannot commit as Minister for Defence. What I can commit to is the role of the Defence Forces in the context of making a contribution to a whole-of-government response to cyber threats as they emerge. We are planning for this and we are investing accordingly. We have asked the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces to look at the role the Defence Forces need to play to secure their own systems against cyberattacks as well as making a contribution to the national effort.
Today, I spoke at a UN Security Council meeting on cybersecurity and its impact on some of the issues the Deputy recognises, in terms of other parts of the world that are extremely vulnerable to cybersecurity threats that undermine the political stability and functioning of weak states, and how the UN can and should be responding to them as a collective. It is a massive challenge. We have to work on our own systems and protecting them and putting in place firewalls and barriers to ensure our systems are as protected as they can be. This is a challenge for every country in the world and the more we can collaborate internationally on this, the better results we will get.
