{"id":237617,"date":"2026-06-26T07:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/26\/irish-businesses-warned-to-bolster-cybersecurity-ahead-of-eu-presidency\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T07:25:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:25:43","slug":"irish-businesses-warned-to-bolster-cybersecurity-ahead-of-eu-presidency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/26\/irish-businesses-warned-to-bolster-cybersecurity-ahead-of-eu-presidency\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish businesses warned to bolster cybersecurity ahead of EU Presidency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Irish businesses warned to bolster cybersecurity ahead of EU Presidency<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/enterprise\/irish-businesses-warned-to-bolster-cybersecurity-ahead-of-eu-presidency<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-06-26 07:20:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.siliconrepublic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n PwC\u2019s Will O\u2019Brien talks to SiliconRepublic.com about how Irish businesses can prepare for a heightened threat landscape during the EU Presidency.
\nPwC has warned businesses in Ireland to improve their cybersecurity defences ahead of Ireland assuming the EU Presidency from the start of next month.
\nThe professional services company said that cyberthreats are expected to escalate once Ireland assumes the Presidency, during which Ireland will host EU government leaders, heads of state and the European political community for a period of six months (from 1 July to 31 December).
\n\u201cThis positions Ireland as the temporary routing hub for sensitive EU political, economic, sanctions and foreign-policy material,\u00a0and a priority target for state-aligned threat actors,\u00a0hacktivists\u00a0and organised cyber\u00a0criminals,\u201d said Will O\u2019Brien, director of PwC Ireland\u2019s cybersecurity practice.
\nThe heightened cyber risks of the Presidency were also recently highlighted by Ireland\u2019s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
\nO\u2019Brien advised Irish businesses work on their cyber defences by prioritising two things: preparedness and resilience.
\n\u201cOrganisations that are resilient, and have completed\u00a0appropriate cyber\u00a0risk assessments, will be far better placed to defend against attackers.\u201d
\nHe added that AI is a \u201cdecisive factor\u201d \u2013 not just for threat actors, but for cybersecurity teams as well.
\n\u201cThreat actors now treat AI as a core platform, automating reconnaissance, crafting convincing phishing lures, accelerating malware\u00a0development\u00a0and scaling social engineering.\u00a0The gap between an AI capability\u2019s public release and its weaponisation is shrinking sharply, with autonomous AI agents a primary concern,\u201d explained O\u2019Brien.
\n\u201cThe encouraging counterpoint: AI is also defenders\u2019 single greatest opportunity to match that pace, enabling faster detection, automated\u00a0containment\u00a0and intelligence-led decision-making.\u201d
\nWill O\u2019Brien. Image: Gerard McCarthy
\nWith the Presidency fast-approaching, O\u2019Brien listed a number of recommendations for Irish businesses consider \u2013 including treating the six-month Presidency window as a \u201chigh-threat period\u201d, particularly in how businesses score and prioritise cyber risk.
\n\u201cRehearse your crisis response.\u00a0Run scenario exercises tied to major Presidency events, using ENISA\u2019s Cybersecurity Exercise Methodology,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cFix known software vulnerabilities faster.\u00a0Subscribe to NCSC Alerts & Advisories and follow its Cyber Vitals Checklist throughout the period.\u201d
\nO\u2019Brien recommended that businesses \u201cpressure test\u201d their IT and OT suppliers, checking they meet NIS2 standards and ensuring that remote-access systems (VPNs) require multi-factor authentication.
\nHe also advised that businesses adopt a zero-trust approach for data and devices; train staff for \u201cAI-driven deception\u201d such as deepfakes and phishing emails; and pre-plan for disinformation \u2013 \u201cwork with communications now so that any incident has a ready\u00a0to\u00a0go\u00a0public response\u201d.
\nLastly, he encouraged businesses to engage with the NCSC early to confirm the organisation\u2019s place in national incident\u00a0coordination arrangements.
\n\u2018Act now\u2019
\nThe heightened cyber risks of hosting the EU Presidency are an expected concern in the backdrop of broader geopolitical tension.
\nThe current Cypriot Presidency experienced its share of cyberthreats, with the country previously reporting a rise in cyberattack frequency during the Presidency window.
\nAnd if a significant cyberattack or breach were to successfully occur during Ireland\u2019s EU Presidency, what would that look like?
\nO\u2019Brien said the fallout would be \u201csignificant on multiple fronts\u201d.
\n\u201cAs Ireland is considered one of Europe\u2019s largest data hosting clusters, and home to several transatlantic subsea cable landing points, we sit at a position where disruption carries continent-wide consequences \u2013 the impact would not be confined to our borders,\u201d he explained.
\n\u201cThe NCSC has noted that incidents during a Presidency are primarily designed to inflict reputational and political damage on the host State and the EU.\u00a0A serious breach would therefore carry economic cost and business disruption, alongside\u00a0potential\u00a0reputational\u00a0damage\u00a0for Ireland on the European stage.
\n\u201cThis is why businesses must be on\u00a0heightened\u00a0alert and act now.\u201d
\nDon\u2019t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the\u00a0Daily Brief, Silicon Republic\u2019s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Irish businesses warned to bolster cybersecurity ahead of EU Presidency https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/enterprise\/irish-businesses-warned-to-bolster-cybersecurity-ahead-of-eu-presidency Publish Date: 2026-06-26 07:20:00…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":237619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AdobeStock_239064990.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[26,30,24,32,25],"class_list":["post-237617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-ai","tag-breach","tag-cybersecurity","tag-malware","tag-phishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237621,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237617\/revisions\/237621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}