Running head: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECH - IRELAND 1 Information and Communications Technology Sector in Ireland Hansel A. Dsouza Marymount University INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECH - IRELAND 2 Information and Communications Technology Sector in Ireland In 2008 during the global financial crisis, the Republic of Ireland’s economy took a major hit. After a subsequent bailout with the help of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Ireland has made a steady comeback into global markets. BBC news country profiles say that, “it [Ireland] was transformed from a largely agricultural society into a modern, high-technology economy.” (BBC, 2016) Ireland has a population of 4.7 million (CSO, 2016) and according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development defines access to computers from home as, “the number of households that reported having at least one personal computer in working order in their home.” (OECD, 2017) Figure 1 depicts access to computers from home in the US and Ireland as a percentage of all households. In 2015, 83.5% of all households had access to computers. This number is significant and shows how technologically literate the population of Ireland is. Another important figure that the OECD lists is the number of users connected to the Internet. There is no credible data as to what type of connection each household had, but it is broadly put that it was “either a dial-up, ADSL or cable broadband connection.” In 2015, the OECD stated that 84.9% of all households had Internet access. (OECD, 2017) This data shows that people in Ireland are inter-connected in terms of Internet and tech-savvy as well. In Ireland, the Information and Communications Technology sector has far-reaching implications and “encompasses many different activities and companies.” (McHugh, 2010) According to McHugh, the ICT sector is rapidly growing and is “among the top three Irish growth industries.” This is evident from the presence of large multi-national companies such as Google, IBM, Dell and Facebook that have headquartered there and provide high-level jobs to the population. In fact, McHugh goes on to state that there “approximately 5,400” ICT INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECH - IRELAND 3 enterprises in Ireland. “223 of which are foreign owned.” (McHugh, 2010) This shows that Ireland’s ICT sector is booming and is a significant contributor to the economy of the country. Furthermore, the ICT sector profile claims to directly “employ(s) over 105,000 people. The website also states that the technology companies in Ireland have announced “over 17,500 jobs” in the last three years and “is responsible for 40% of our national exports.” (ICT Ireland, n.d.) A prominent technological area in the US is the infamous Silicon Valley, similarly the Republic of Ireland’s technological hub is located in Dublin and appropriately termed “Silicon Docks.” Some of the top technology companies in the Silicon Docks area include, Google, Twitter, Tripadvisor, Facebook and Accenture. A lot of these companies have decided to open headquarters in Dublin, Ireland due to its low corporate tax rate. Currently sitting at just 12.5%, Ireland proves to be a hotspot for these companies. Barry O’Dowd, IDA’s senior Vice President of Emerging Business attributes this success to two big factors – The corporate tax rate as previously mentioned as well as government funding and “a whole lot of talented young people.” (Lapowsky, 2012). Not only do companies thrive from a booming economic market, but the availability of young talent and their prolific skills greatly help these companies. The Republic of Ireland is also home to a dozens of large academic institutions such as the Dublin Institute of Technology or University College, Dublin. The Industrial Development Authority says that, “the [ICT] industry employs over 37,000 people” (IDA Ireland, n.d.) Figure 2 further shows some of the characteristics of Ireland’s ICT sector. Since the ICT sector is flourishing in Ireland, Foreign Direct Investment Awards (FDI) highlight the importance of research in Ireland’s ICT based companies to be a driving force for company growth. Their website names a couple research centers that focus their work on the ICT field, these include The Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), the Insight Centre for Data Analytics (INSIGHT), INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECH - IRELAND 4 the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre (LERO) and Tyndall National Institute. (FDI Awards, 2016) In early 2016 the Oireachtas, National Parliament, published the Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016 that strengthened cybercrime legislations in the Republic of Ireland. It built upon existing framework of the European Directive 2013/40/EU of the European Parliament. It introduced 5 offenses that people could be charged for, they are: 1. Accessing information system without lawful authority 2. Interference with information system without lawful authority 3. Interference with data without lawful authority 4. Intercepting transmission of data without lawful authority 5. Use of computer programme, password, code or data for the purpose of the above acts. For the above offenses, the penalties are harsh. For all offences except 2, the penalty is a fine or upto 5 years in prison. For offence #2, the penalty is a much more serious 10 years in prison. This gives us a neat segway into the National Cyber Security Strategy which was published by the Department of Communications, Energy and National Resources. It is a high-level policy introduced by the government the risks and challenges faced when building a modern digital economy. The policy details how the department will work in three areas, namely, the government, personal and business enterprise systems and critical infrastructure. Some of the key measures outlined in the policy are: - Government campaigns to engage the general public in a safer environment. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECH - IRELAND 5 - Establishment of the National Cyber Security Centre – which builds on the existing Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE). - Adherence to the European Union Treaties and the European Convention on Human Rights in order to protect personal data of citizens. - Protecting the nation’s Critical Infrastructure such as water, telecommunications network, electricity and health. - To ensure that the An Garda Síochána has an extensive framework to combat cybercrime. - Build education models for small businesses to help them protect themselves online. - Cooperation with state agencies and International peers that share similar interests in the field of cyber security. (Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, 2015) The An Garda Síochána or National Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency that deals with cybercrime. The department charged with handling cases of cybercrime is the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau. While they primarily investigate cases of fraud and counterfeiting, the bureau has taken up the task of battling cybercrime in recent years. The Computer Crime Investigation Unit (CCIU) is one of the key operational units within the Garda that deals with cybercrime. In an interview with Michael Gubbins, head of the Garda Cyber Crime unit, he cites “ransomware” as big issue. He goes on to say that “companies are not reporting cyber-attacks.” (Calnan, 2016) This proves to be a major issue for the CCIU as companies need to cooperate more so they can tackle issues effectively by releasing regulatory statements and advisories. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECH - IRELAND 6 On the flip side, University College Dublin is making remarkable strides in the field of cybercrime and actively helping out the Garda in their efforts. A 2013 case study by the UCD Centre for Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Investigation (CCI) speaks volumes on how extensively the program, established in 2006, has helped law enforcement agencies effectively combat cybercrime. The development of software called FREETOOL has helped law enforcement greatly by providing training and software to police officers. According to the case study, “the FREETOOL project has enhanced the ability of police forces to work together to investigate cybercrime by removing financial barriers to accessing necessary technology.” (UCD Centre for Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Investigation (CCI)) The project went on to receive two million euros in funding from the European commission. In 2016, the An Garda Síochána published the Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016 – 2021. (An Garda Síochána, 2016) The guide says that they will set up specialist units to collaborate with international partners and provide cyber and forensic tools to law enforcement agencies. It also acknowledges the downfall of the CCIU in recent times due to “a lack of investment in technology and resources.” To combat this, they plan to regionalize the CCIU and develop a better structure. Figure 3 shows the proposed structure. The introduction of new organizations and extensive additional training looks to greatly strengthen Ireland’s cybercrime problem. Looking for cybercrime reports, there seem to be little to none online. A common problem with this according to Detective Michael Gubbins, head of the Garda Cyber Crime Bureau is “people don’t reporting cyber-attacks.” (Kelly, 2016) In an another article, he says “Irish companies are falling victim to a number of different forms of cybercrime, the most typical