DIGITALWORLD


»


the state of the art in security,” adds Crosbie. There are also cross-border groups com-


prisingmembers fromacross the island of Ire- land. A team from Queen’s University Belfast became the firstNorthernIrelandorganisation to co-ordinate and win an FP7 security pro- posal, leading a group that includes a North- ern Ireland SME (Capna DSP) and four participants fromtheRepublic: ScorpionNet- works,TyndallNational Institute atUniversity CollegeCork,NUIGalway andtheOffice of the Revenue Commissioners. Other NI partici- pants included the Police Service ofNorthern Ireland and the University of Ulster. Researchers fromQueen’s are also participat- ing in part of the PRECYSE project (Preven- tion, protection and REaction to CYber attackS to critical infrastructures) in a group that also includes Dublin software developer Skytek.


there’s already a model of how this can be achieved: the IrishBankingFederation’s (IBF) hi-tech crime forum has successfully over- come the challenges of sharing confidential in- formation between competing financial institutions, for a greater good– fighting a col- lective external threat. Among its tasks, the IBF forum conducts tabletop exercises to plan reactions to potential scenarios like cyber attacks. “There is no equivalent to this in Europe … we would be ahead of the game in that regard,” says Prof Carthy. Owen O’Connor, who founded the Irish


LAW ENFORCEMENT At a time when cybercrime is recognised as a global threat that crosses borders, Irelandis at the forefront of European initiatives in re- searching and developing law enforcement’s response.Detective InspectorPaulGillen,who heads the Computer Crime InvestigationUnit in An Garda Siochána, has worked actively to grow that reputation with a series of wide- reaching initiatives. Thebacking ofGillenandhis colleagues ledto the establishment


‘Leading technology companies are nowhosting their cloud applications and services out of Ireland’


chapter of ISSA and now leads his own in- fosec start-upCernam, says securing smart- phones and their operating systemswill be a critical issue in the years ahead, while cloud computing will be another. As the world moves to a model where we use a series of devices to access our data stored in the cloud, the critical issue of identity will be at the fore. “In general, there’s a need to tear down and rebuild a lot ofwhatwe use for se- curity. There are things that look like solved problems but aren’t,” says O’Connor. The cloud opportunity fits hand in glove


with the Government’s agenda of attracting inward investment from data centre and cloud computing providers. “Leading tech- nology companies are now hosting their cloud applications and services out of Ire-


of the Centre for Cybercrime Investigation at UCD, which offers one of the only courses of itskindintheworldwitha two-yearmas- ter’s programme in forensic computing and cybercrime investi- gation.More than 1,000 police officers have taken online exams at the college to date, fromforces around theworld, includingHong Kong, SouthAfrica, theUK, Italy,Austria, Finland andNorway. Last year,UCDwas chosento spearheada €4mEuropeanCom-


mission project, the Cybercrime Centres of Excellence Network forTraining,Research andEducation (2Centre).Part of theCom- mission’s strategy to safeguard governments, businesses, and cit- izens fromcybercrime, 2Centrewillprovide training, researchand education. UCD has been designated as the network lead, con- ducting research into cybercrime, providing software and hard- ware forensics tools for police investigators, and developing and delivering training programmes combining classroomand online modules for officers. “We’ve nowan established reputationwithmajor organisations


like Interpol,Europol and theUnitedNationsOffice onDrugs and Crime … we are the go-to people for cybercrime training for law enforcement,” says Prof Joe Carthy, head of the UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation.


LOOKING FORWARD Many security experts now believe increased international co- operation is essential to tackle the latest cyber threats. InIreland,


land,” says Denis Curran, software manager with IDA Ireland. “When they’re making those decisions to locate those services here, security is integral andwe’re benefiting fromthat…it goes hand in glove.” Security is a critical component of this initiative; McAfee recently invested €6m to develop security technology for the cloud at its facility in Co Cork,whileVordel’s expertise in service-oriented architecture has given it a leading position in this space. Ireland has the expertise and the opportunity to provide the


reassurance around security in the cloud thatmany businesses nowactively seek.Taking advantage of its neutral status and en- forcing a strong data protection regime, Ireland is emerging as the ‘Switzerland of data’ – a safe haven for enterprise informa- tion. Moreover, all of the activity has a rallying pointwith Infosecu-


rity Ireland (ISI),which promotes the country’s credentials as a global centre of excellence in ITsecurity.The group is coalescing Ireland’s broad security expertise into an evenmore closely net- worked community.Crucially, it has the backing of the IrishGov- ernment via State agencies. The increased global levels of activity in security, and the at-


tention this has received, means the world is looking for solu- tions to a vast range of security problems.With a long history of protecting information in its past and its present, Ireland has a compelling proposition in developing the technology and networks to secure our world in the future.


Issue 4 Spring/Summer 2012 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW 57


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80