Irish businesses warned to bolster cybersecurity ahead of EU Presidency
Irish businesses warned to bolster cybersecurity ahead of EU Presidency
Publish Date: 2026-06-26 07:20:00
Source Domain: www.siliconrepublic.com
PwC’s Will O’Brien talks to SiliconRepublic.com about how Irish businesses can prepare for a heightened threat landscape during the EU Presidency.
PwC has warned businesses in Ireland to improve their cybersecurity defences ahead of Ireland assuming the EU Presidency from the start of next month.
The 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).
“This positions Ireland as the temporary routing hub for sensitive EU political, economic, sanctions and foreign-policy material, and a priority target for state-aligned threat actors, hacktivists and organised cyber criminals,” said Will O’Brien, director of PwC Ireland’s cybersecurity practice.
The heightened cyber risks of the Presidency were also recently highlighted by Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
O’Brien advised Irish businesses work on their cyber defences by prioritising two things: preparedness and resilience.
“Organisations that are resilient, and have completed appropriate cyber risk assessments, will be far better placed to defend against attackers.”
He added that AI is a “decisive factor” – not just for threat actors, but for cybersecurity teams as well.
“Threat actors now treat AI as a core platform, automating reconnaissance, crafting convincing phishing lures, accelerating malware development and scaling social engineering. The gap between an AI capability’s public release and its weaponisation is shrinking sharply, with autonomous AI agents a primary concern,” explained O’Brien.
“The encouraging counterpoint: AI is also defenders’ single greatest opportunity to match that pace, enabling faster detection, automated containment and intelligence-led decision-making.”
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