Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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124. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of whole-time equivalent IT security managers employed by her Department as of 1 January 2021 and 27 June 2022, in tabular form. [36475/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department takes the issue of cyber security very seriously. The Information Communications Technology Unit takes a whole-of-team approach to protect my Department's data and IT systems. Departmental staff are supported in this function by IT security vendors and third-party support companies.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which is located within the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, is the primary cyber security authority in the State. The NCSC provides a range of cybersecurity services to operators of Critical National Infrastructure, Government Departments and Agencies.

My Department's cyber security protocols are supported by the work of the NCSC and the national computer security incident response team, CSIRT, which provides early warnings, alerts, announcements and dissemination of information about risk and incidents to my Department.

My Department has been advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise the Department’s information security posture. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose information on my Department's cyber activities and the resourcing of same for both security and operational reasons.