“The capability to launch an attack is clearly there and I have a real concern that we may be vulnerable. An attack could be from a foreign power or far more likely from some criminal or subversive group” said Mr. O'Shea in a statement.
He said a cyber attack could cripple the welfare system, for example, leaving it unable to make welfare payments to the unemployed.
Defence Minister Willie O'Dea responded by saying that insofar as the Department and Defence Forces are concerned, there is a programme of continuous review of ICT security in order to keep up with current threat levels.
“Policies and guidelines are provided to all users of ICT systems and considerable resources are invested in assessing weaknesses and protecting systems against cyber attack and malicious security breaches. Details of measures taken are not publicized for security reasons, but, given the levels of upgrading and increased protection put in place in recent years, the vulnerability to such attacks has been greatly minimized” Mr. O'Dea said.
