Seán Haughey
Question:96. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Justice the number of cybercrimes recorded in Ireland in 2022; and a breakdown of the type of cybercrimes recorded. [18076/23]
View answerTuesday, 18 April 2023
Questions (96)
Written answers
Cyber-crimes can cause not only devastating financial problems but can also cause mental stress for the victims and their families.
Every person in Ireland deserves to feel safe and to be safe when they conduct their personal business online or over the phone, and so the practice of trying to trick people out of their personal information or hard-earned money is truly disgusting and will not be tolerated.
In particular I would urge anyone conducting sensitive or personal business online or over the phone to be very cautious when providing personal or banking information. Many of the financial institutions have excellent advice for customers on how to be safe online, as does the Citizens’ Information website.
As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including operational policing matters. As Minister, I have no role in these matters.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that there is no structured category for Cybercrime on the PULSE Database. I am further informed that Cyber Crime is divided into Cyber-enabled and Cyber-dependent crime. Cyber-enabled could be almost any crime type, and only an extensive narrative search would provide any data. While some Cyber-dependent crimes may have a specific type the figure provide may not be accurate. I am advised by the Garda authorities that for these reasons, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of cybercrimes as requested by the Deputy.
As the Deputy may be aware the Central Statistics Office (CSO) recently published its recorded crime statistics for Quarter 4 2022 and also cover the 12-month period up to the end of December 2022. It noted that there were 11,569 Fraud, Deception and Related offences recorded in 2022 and that this was down by 32% or 5,461 incidents from 2021.
There were also 2,310 recorded incidents of the same category in Q4 2022, and this was down 56% or by 2,987 incidents from a year earlier. According to the CSO this was largely driven by a fall in unauthorised transactions and attempts to obtain personal or banking information online or by phone.
While I welcome these recent statistical decreases I can assure the Deputy that the prevention and investigation of cybercrime, which particularly targets the vulnerable, remains a top priority for the Government and for An Garda Síochána. Budget 2023 provides €2.14 billion in funding to An Garda Síochána. These funds provide for continued investment in the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB).
In terms of awareness raising, I’d like to re-iterate a key message from the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB)
• Be prepared - Know the risks and the benefits of connecting online and keep yourself informed by being cyber aware.
• Be Aware – think before you click, don’t open attachments from unknown sources
• Be suspicious – of unsolicited emails or requests for information. Stop, think, call.
• [Systems and Protections:] Backup separately, Updated securely, Check regularly.
• Don’t mix work and personal networks, activities or devices.
• Report any suspicious or criminal attacks to your local Garda Station
• #ThinkB4Uclick to Stay connected, Stay Secure and above all Stay Safe when online.
If anyone suspects that they have been the victim of a cyber crime or fraud, I would encourage them to contact Gardaí to report this at the earliest possible time. I assure people that members of An Garda Síochána will be best placed to advise them.