Cyber security ‘constant danger’ and ‘big threat’ to Ireland – Micheal Martin

Cyber security issues are a big threat to the country and to democracies, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin also said that AI-enabled hacking software and cyber attacks are becoming “far more concerning” and more “dangerous”.

He was speaking after a suspected cyber attack affected refrigeration systems in 13 SuperValu stores throughout Ireland.

On Monday a spokesperson for Musgrave, which owns the Irish supermarket chain, said the suspected attack was limited to a specific model of refrigeration.

The spokesperson said an investigation had been launched and that by Monday afternoon the incident had been resolved.

Speaking on his way into Cabinet on Tuesday, Mr Martin said cyber attack are global and a “constant danger” to the private and public sectors.

“There are ongoing attacks almost on a weekly, daily basis from hacktivists, and in this case, it’s through various older machinery pertaining to refrigeration,” Mr Martin said.

“It’s very, very worrying because there are different actors involved in terms of cyber security undermining the private sector and attempting to undermine public utilities.

“So it’s a big, big concern and now, with AI-enabled hacking and AI-enabled cyber security attacks, it is becoming far more concerning and even more dangerous than ever before.”

Mr Martin said Ireland needs to develop “very strong resilience”.

He added that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), led by director Richard Browne, has built up “very strong capacity”.

“We work with other organisations across Europe and across the world because one has to collaborate on these issues,” Mr Martin said.

“But cyber security is a big threat to the country. It’s a big threat to democracies, and we need to be very, very vigilant at all times in respect of it.”