One year ago, Grant Thornton published the “The Economic Cost of Cybercrime” report. It was apparent then that Irish businesses were extremely vulnerable to cybercriminals, and that they needed to focus their planned cyber security investments on the ability to detect and react to datasecurity breaches. It was not a question of ‘if’ an Irish business will be the victim of a cyber-attack but a question of ‘when’. Businesses needed to act, and build their internal capabilities to prepare for attacks.
2021 was the year when Ireland faced its’ cyber “Annus Horribilis”, where a major Ransomware attack on Ireland’s National Health Service Executive (HSE) brought the impact of cyber-attacks home to a significant proportion of the Irish population.
Trends from 2021 have continued, and in some cases accelerated, over the last year and Ireland is more vulnerable than ever to cyber-attacks. This is in part due to the increase in both remote and hybrid working, alongside continued Ransomware threats and a criminal focus on exploiting supply chains. Compared to their European Union counterparts, there are indications that Ireland is not dealing with these threats as effectively.
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