Revealed: Ireland ranks sixth worst cybersecurity State in Europe, study shows
Ireland is the sixth-least cybersecure nation in Europe, according to a new study.
he research analysed and ranked countries on factors such as: cybercrime exposure, commitment to cybersecurity, malicious software, social media and email hacks, online banking fraud, identity theft and cybersecurity legislations.
The research found that 15pc of Irish people had a social media or email account hacked, 10pc were victims of online banking or bank card fraud while 6pc of Irish people were victims of identity theft.
More than one in five Irish devices observed in the study (21pc) were found to have malicious software on them, cybersecurity firm Eset found.
Only Romania, Austria, France and Luxembourg scored worse than Ireland’s 5.3/10.
Ireland also ranked among the worst in Europe (0.78/1) for commitment to cybersecurity, which is measured by the International Telecommunication Union, involving experts from different backgrounds and organizations.
This comes as Ireland suffered the most damaging cyber attack in the history of the State when the HSE infrastructure was crippled by a malicious ransomware virus earlier this year.
The attack seriously damaged the HSE’s ability to deliver acute healthcare for several weeks and it’s estimated it will cost up to €500m to completely restore all systems and functions of the HSE’s IT infrastructure.
Government officials have committed to increased spending on State cybersecurity following the attack, beginning with the appointment of a head of the National Cyber Security Centre - a position that was vacant at the time of the HSE attack.
Jake Moore, Cybersecurity Specialist for ESET, said it’s important for nations to be aware of the actions taken across Europe and learn from one another wherever possible.
“A truly holistic approach to cybersecurity requires a breadth of knowledge about potential approaches, including how and when they work best.
“Ultimately, cybersecurity works best when we work together, whether that's between individual people or entire countries. As the internet is international, no one country can be responsible for cyber safety. Recent events have shown us that cooperation and collaboration are more important than ever.”
Gloss