now being faced with this [cyberattack] is hugely demanding,” he said, adding that the Defence Forces “have a lot of good expertise” in the area of cybersecurity. However, the primary cybersecurity role of the Defence Forces was the protection of its own networks and systems. And those cuts had “savagely undermined the capacity within the Defence Forces to assist in the defence of our country against these types of cyberattacks”. While a commission was now considering the future of the Defence Forces, he did not believe “the political will” existed within Government to acting on the recommendations from that review. Mr Coveney said he had an “open mind” on whether PDforra should be allowed to affiliate with Ictu, adding there were different views on it within the Defence Forces.

Source: The Irish Times May 20, 2021 15:22 UTC