The Department of Education and Skills is highly dependent on information and communications technology, for the conduct of its business and is cyber-security aware.
My Department has a number of security policies and safeguards in place to mitigate the threats and risks as far as possible. Policies and procedures cover a wide range of issues, including Internet access, e-mail usage, mobile device and remote access arrangements, password management and user authentication methods. To this end my Department uses industry leading security products to filter e-mail and web traffic to automatically stop spam, viruses and other malware agents from infiltrating my Department’s computer networks.
My Department has a contract with an external IT security firm, to advise on system hardening procedures. My Department also monitors communications regarding cyber security threats from the governmental Computer Security Incident Response Team, CSIRT-IE, in the National Cyber Security Centre, and undertakes the appropriate follow-up action.