Dr. Richard Browne:

That is obviously a very significant question and it is probably not surprising that there are clear limits as to how far I can go on any specific threat or risk. It is clear that the State is home to a significant amount of foreign direct investment from a number of different countries, not just the US, but there is a significant number of large US multinationals here. That means that there is a significant amount of IP, or intellectual property here which is a very significant target for threat actors from around the world and not just any individual state. There is obviously a significant amount of interest in that.

Second, it is important to note that this is a relatively wealthy country, an EU member, has a full seat on the UN Security Council for the moment, and is heavily engaged in a large number of international organisations: public, private, civic, private sector, and so on. That makes us a target in a wide number of ways for a broad number of threat actors looking to steal information.

This is normal. While cyber potentiates an increased number of types of attacks, it does not change the fundamentals. We have always been a target for this type of activity. Our role in this regard is to ensure that entities, particularly in the private sector and critical infrastructure, are resilient and capable of dealing with these kinds of issues. If they become aware of an issue, they need to have somewhere to turn to for expert advice and guidance. One of our roles in this regard is to understand exactly what is happening and, in some cases, to predict what will happen. We need to ensure that Government is fully aware of the nature of the risks and the nature of the occurrences and incidents that we are seeing and of the need to do whatever is required to deal with those now and into the future.