An Cosantóir June 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie
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BY DINOS KERIGAN-KYROU
'Defeating the Pandemic,
Defending Our Critical
Infrastructure, and Securing
Cyberspace: Battles We Cannot
Afford to Lose'
C
OVID-19 has resulted in serious illness and loss of life across Ireland and the rest of the
world. Working closely with our healthcare professionals, the Defence Forces have a
critical and central role in the response to the pandemic.
Cyber security and the protection of our critical infrastructure may not appear as issues which
are particularly relevant at this time. But they are crucial if we are to minimise economic harm,
sustain recovery, and establish safe and effective infrastructure - including resilient medical
infrastructure - for the long-term. Unfortunately, the time of such a pandemic is a period when
those who want to cause harm online - and there are many of them - seek to take advantage
and are at their most prolific.
Cyber security is the security of cyberspace - the online environment that directly affects
everyone. Cyber security includes the protection of our personal, business, and organisational
information. Your own personal cyber and information security cannot be separated from the
security of the Defence Forces and the security of the State.
Many of the things we use every day in the home, and our vital critical infrastructure includ-
ing factories, transport, supply chains, logistics, finance, energy, and medical and healthcare
infrastructure is increasingly connected online. And every company and organisation in Ireland,
including the Defence Forces, have moved increasingly to working online, including the use of
video meetings, in a way that could not have been imagined just a few months ago.
The security of cyberspace directly affects the economic, and physical health and well-being of
every single person in Ireland. But when our guard is down, and we are understandably focusing
on other hugely important concerns, is when those that wish to cause harm have an unprec-
edented opportunity to do so. As US Admiral (ret'd) James Stavridis states: "Much like the invisible
