Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 1 December 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs

EU Cybersecurity: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Lisa ChambersLisa Chambers (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Mr. Lepassaar for his very comprehensive reply. I appreciate his straightforwardness. On the final point with regard to the producers of software, that is, the big corporates, what type of interaction does the agency have with them? Does it deal directly with big producers such as Intel, Microsoft and so on? What type of interaction does the agency have with them? If the agency finds - I am not trying to implicate any of those companies - that a product or software is not meeting a certain standard, what steps does it take? Is there a reporting line or are there sanctions? If a standard is not being met, what is the next step?

I would like to ask another question not related to my previous line of questioning. In terms of the agency's work, what are the top three threats in the EU? What are the three areas it is monitoring the most? Has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the agency's work? Has it looked at other areas, changed its approach or identified any new or different threats to assess because of the pandemic?