Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

I thank the Minister for the reply. Could the Minister confirm that his is the lead Department in this area? Can the Minister assure the House that, if a cyber attack like the one mounted on Estonia in April and May 2007 were to occur here, we have the capability to minimise the effects of the attack as the Estonian authorities were capable of doing? Is he aware that during the five day war between Russia and Georgia, cyber warfare was engaged in by both belligerent parties in parallel with conventional military operations? Can he inform us of the international contacts he is developing in respect of this issue? My understanding is that there must be international co-operation in order to deal with the malevolent forces that engage in cyber warfare.

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