National Cyber Security Centre Launches 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment revealing Escalating Threat Landscape.
Rapidly evolving cyber risks put country’s critical infrastructure at risk.
Today (December 2nd) the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) launched its 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment. This is a comprehensive review of the cyber threats, systemic risks, and sectoral vulnerabilities facing the State.
Launched at the NCSC’s annual conference, the assessment provides the most detailed national overview to date of Ireland’s cyber risk environment and builds on the foundation laid by the 2022 assessment.
The assessment identifies key developments in the national and global cyber threat landscape, including increasingly sophisticated nation-state activity, the accelerating pace of cybercrime, and the growing likelihood of cascading impacts across interconnected sectors such as energy, transport, healthcare, and financial services.
Key findings of the 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment include:
As technology has advanced and reliance on digitalisation has intensified, the cyber threat landscape has become more complex with an increased risk of incidents, leading to significant cross sectoral impacts.
Taking an all-hazards approach, the 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment has identified three key systemic risks:
The dynamic geopolitical environment,
Evolving technology and its implications on security.
Supply chain security.
If any or all these risks were to be realised, it could undermine Ireland’s delivery of essential services, disrupt its critical sectors, and erode trust in government, institutions, and organisations.
To mitigate Ireland’s identified risks, five recommendations have been identified:
Strengthen visibility and detection – investing systems and structures to enhance national visibility will reduce systemic blind spots and allow the State to be better positioned to anticipate and respond to risks before they escalate.
Implement proactive cyber defence capabilities – reactive responses alone are not sufficient to protect society and the economy from the potential cascading effects of attacks on critical systems. Ireland must enhance its proactive cyber defence posture, disrupting the cyber-attack lifecycle earlier to prevent incidents at scale.
Enhance national resilience –by implementing EU frameworks in full and extending resilience beyond infrastructure to society itself, Ireland will ensure that both services and democratic institutions remain robust in the face of systemic cyber risks.
Secure critical supply chains – the State must strengthen our supply chain through strengthening procurement rules in government, embed security-by-design and risk management practices, and increase visibility of vendor ownership.
Invest in national cyber resilience – investment in people, innovation and our indigenous industrial base will ensure that Ireland has the capacity not just to respond to today’s threats but to anticipate and shape the next generation of resilience measures.
These recommendations provide a framework for the next National Cyber Security Strategy, ensuring that systemic vulnerabilities are reduced and national resilience strengthened.
The 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment is now available HERE.
A powerful new advert from the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland, part of the “Pause Before You Post” initiative, has been making waves online.
As shown hereunder, the film begins as an innocent family stroll through a shopping centre, with a mother, father and young daughter. What starts out as a normal outing quickly becomes unsettling, as strangers begin greeting the child by name and mentioning intimate details of her life, information that, in the scenario, was gleaned from her parents’ social-media posts.
As the tension builds, one stranger even downloads a photo of the girl, a chilling visual that underlines the core message of the campaign: every time you share your child’s life online, you risk sharing their personal data with the world.
What the campaign warns about:
According to the DPC, the ordinary act of “sharenting”; posting photos, videos or personal data about children, can unintentionally build a permanent digital footprint for them. This may include names, dates of birth, images, friends, locations, clubs or routines, all shared without a child’s consent or understanding.
The campaign highlights four principal risks: (1) Misuse of images/data, photos and videos may be downloaded, reused or manipulated, possibly even turned into harmful content, such as deepfakes or child-sexual-abuse material. (2) Unwanted contact or exposure to strangers, information such as routines, clubs or locations can make children vulnerable. (3) Long-term digital footprint & privacy loss, once shared, data can remain publicly accessible indefinitely; children may lose control over how their childhood memories are used or perceived. (4) Potential identity/fraud risks, shared personal data can facilitate identity theft or fraud, especially if combined with other publicly available information.
What parents and guardians should consider: The DPC doesn’t call for an outright ban on sharing children’s photos or memories, instead, it urges caution and mindfulness.
Key advice includes: Pause and reflect: Before posting, consider whether you’d be comfortable if a stranger knew this information about your child. Share selectively: Use private channels, close family groups or private messaging, rather than public social-media posts. Minimise identifiable info: Avoid posting names, dates of birth, school, clubs, routines — information that can be combined to build a picture of a child’s identity. Wait for consent: As children grow older, involve them in decisions about what’s shared. Their agency over their own digital footprint deserves respect.
Why the ad feels like a horror-movie and why that matters:
What makes “Pause Before You Post” especially striking is how it transforms a mundane, everyday moment into something deeply unsettling. That sense of normality turned on its head, strangers knowing things about your child you only shared with friends or family, evokes the same kind of dread that horror films aim for. That visceral reaction is the campaign’s intent; to force parents to confront the hidden risks of everyday oversharing. The shock is deliberate. It grabs attention and once you feel that discomfort, you can start to see just how easy it is to build a lasting digital “record” for a child, one over which they may have little future control.
The Blink Outdoor 4, a wireless HD smart security camera with a two-year battery life and IP65 weatherproof rating, has to stands out this Black Friday as one of the most compelling home-security bargains online. With this 2-camera system bundled with the Sync Module Core, now reportedly reduced by around 59%, the value proposition is hard to ignore.
In a season when home burglaries tend to rise, particularly over darker winter evenings and especially around Christmas, when homes may be unoccupied or gifts visible through windows, investing in reliable external surveillance is increasingly prudent.
Long battery life & low maintenance: Blink claims up to two years on two AA lithium batteries, a rare advantage among battery-powered outdoor cameras. Hassle-free, wireless installation: The wireless design avoids messy complicated wiring, making it easy for homeowners to place cameras where they are most needed. Weather resistance & durability: With IP65 rating, Blink Outdoor 4 is built to withstand rain, wind, and cold, essential for Irish winter conditions. Good video quality & effective motion detection: Users in the Thurles area report satisfactory 1080p HD video and reliable motion-activated alerts.
Local storage option (no mandatory subscription): The included Sync Module Core allows for local USB storage, (latter not included but can be purchased cheaply HERE) giving homeowners control over their surveillance footage without needing to pay for a cloud plan.
Why this deal matters, especially now: With many discounts across the board this Black Friday, the steep reduction in price makes Blink Outdoor 4 a very attractive entry point for homeowners seeking upgraded security, especially for those living alone, in a period where opportunistic burglaries tend to increase. The balance of ease of installation, decent video quality, weather-proofing and low maintenance makes it a very sound choice for people who want visible deterrence and peace of mind, without investing in a fully wired CCTV system.
Given the current price drop, this looks very much like one of the “best deals online” for outdoor, battery-powered home-security cameras.
Tipperary man remanded, after €8.1 million cocaine seizure in Laois.
A 39-year-old man from Wood View, Boulick, Gortnahoe, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, latter named in court as Mr Thomas Ryan, has been remanded in custody following a major seizure of suspected cocaine in Co. Laois.
Under the banner of Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau’s (GN-DOCB) Operation TARA, Gardaí carried out searches at a residential address, associated lands and a wooded area in Killnaseer, Rathdowney, on October 28th, 2025. The operation led to the seizure of approximately 116 kg of suspected cocaine, same with a street-value estimated at around €8.1 million, along with several electronic devices.
At his bail hearing on November 3rd last at Portlaoise District Court, defence counsel Mr Aonghus McCarthy argued that Ryan, latter a qualified carpenter with a two-decade working history, had strong community ties. His father, a 74-year-old farmer, offered a substantial surety.
However, Garda evidence, led by Mr Stephen Gillespie of GN-DOCB, strongly opposed bail. Gardaí claimed Mr Ryan had been identified as allegedly involved in the storage and distribution of drugs on behalf of an organised criminal group. They reported that two vehicles were seized from his address; one of which contained a “sophisticated motorised concealment.”
A search of a wooded area later, allegedly revealed the cocaine blocks, some bearing various markings and stamps, with one sample block, reportedly valued at €70,000, which has since tested positive for the drug cocaine.
According to court reports, Mr Ryan was interviewed six times at a Garda station following his arrest and is said to have made admissions relating to the storage and distribution of the drugs.
Prosecutors indicated the case will almost certainly proceed on indictment, and additional charges could follow.
Rejecting the bail application, Ms Justice Susan Fay remanded Mr Ryan in custody. The matter was adjourned to December 15th for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP); with the accused most likely to appear by video link.
Gardaí, armed with a search warrent, carried out a search of a house in Cahir, Co. Tipperary, yesterday November 26th, resulting in the seizure of an estimated €55,000 of suspected cocaine and cannabis.
Officers also recovered more than €4,000 in cash and a substantial quantity of drug-dealing paraphernalia.
The operation involved the Tipperary South Divisional Drugs Unit, the Divisional Crime Task Force, the Garda Dog Unit and the Tipperary Central Community Policing Unit.
No arrests have as yet been reported at this time.
A file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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