CeADAR, Ireland's Centre for AI, is leading an €8.7m EU project to develop AI tools, algorithms, and frameworks to make AI systems more trustworthy and energy efficient.

The MANOLO project brings together 18 partner organisations from eight European countries with the aim of developing AI resources to help reduce the amount of energy, memory, and storage required to train and run AI models, and create a framework to reverse the trend of declining user confidence in AI.

Researchers hope that the development of new techniques to create more energy efficient AI models will help alleviate the burden on national energy grids from data centres and other AI systems running on personal and embedded devices.

Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Dara Calleary joined representatives from the European partners and CeADAR at the National Centre for Applied AI at University College Dublin (UCD) on February 7 to launch the project.

Partners from industry, business and academia used the launch event to discuss their roles and responsibilities as they bid to not only reduce the environmental impact of AI but also create a framework for designing and evaluating AI solutions by following and adopting trustworthy AI principles and requirements.

As part of this effort, MANOLO aims to develop a handbook with practical guidelines on how to apply the MANOLO framework and tools to help companies design trustworthy AI solutions. It is expected that the trustworthy algorithms and framework devised under MANOLO will help companies conform to the EU's proposed legislation to regulate AI, the EU AI Act.

Over 36 months, researchers plan to develop and test their AI tools in laboratories before rolling them out for validation in a variety of industry settings. Some AI tools, for example, will be embedded in humanoid robots operating in manufacturing and healthcare environments, in low-power sensor devices for brain-computer interface, such as those that monitor sleep, and in mobile phones.

The resources will also be tested in neuromorphic chips, computer processors modelled on the neural systems of the human brain which can perform tasks faster than standard computer processers while using less power.

MANOLO is funded by Horizon Europe, the EU's key funding programme for research and innovation with a budget of €95.5bn. It tackles climate change, helps to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and boosts the EU's competitiveness and growth.

Minister of State of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Dara Calleary said:

"CeADAR's role as coordinators of MANOLO, a Horizon Europe-funded project, once again demonstrates Ireland's ability to punch above its weight in terms of innovation in artificial intelligence and machine learning. It is hugely important that we make AI systems more energy efficient given that use of the technology is likely to become even more widespread in the coming years.

"We also welcome the work to reverse declining user confidence in AI and to provide more clarity around how AI systems work. These tools are going to underpin the workings of our society going forward and it's vital that the public has total confidence that those in charge of their development are seen to be taking a fair, equitable and humancentric approach."

Dr. Ricardo Simon Carbajo, Director of Innovation and Development at CeADAR and MANOLO Project Coordinator, said:

"CeADAR is very proud to serve as the leader of MANOLO, a major EU-funded project involving many of the top research and industry institutions in Europe. The aim of MANOLO is to create novel algorithms to make AI more trustworthy and energy efficient. The solution will plug into current AI systems, which will help organisations in Ireland and Europe achieve their energy efficiency targets.

It will also provide tools and frameworks to evaluate and improve the trustworthiness of their AI systems while empowering humans and contributing to the good ...

Sky was crowned Broadband Provider of the Year, while GoMo landed Mobile Network of the Year at the Switcher.ie Awards 2024.

The first of its kind in Ireland and now running for over a decade, the Switcher.ie Awards spotlight brilliance in the broadband and mobile market and help customers choose the best providers and services for their needs.

Sky excelled in the broadband categories, pocketing four prizes in total. As well as Broadband Provider of the Year, they swept up Best Broadband Bundle, Best Customer Service and TV Provider of the Year. Voters selected Vodafone as the Best Value Broadband Provider and awarded them Best Technical Support.

GoMo and 48 triumphed in the Mobile domain, securing two prizes each. As well as winning the acclaimed Mobile Network of the Year, GoMo was named Best Mobile Network for Data. Price-conscious voters selected 48 as the Best Value Mobile Network, while Tesco Mobile was chosen as the provider with the Best Customer Service.

Independent consumer research determined winners across most categories, while the Switcher.ie Judges Awards were selected by telecoms experts at Switcher.ie.

Full Switcher.ie Awards 2024 Winners List

The full list of broadband and TV award categories and winners is available at: https://switcher.ie/broadband/awards/

The mobile award categories and winners are here: https://switcher.ie/mobiles/awards/

Eoin Clarke, Commercial Director of Switcher.ie, comments:

"The Switcher.ie Awards have spotlighted standout telecom providers in Ireland for over a decade. As more consumers access super-fast fibre broadband and new, innovative mobile technology, price-conscious shoppers expect not only value but also speedy, reliable service with exceptional customer support.

Used alongside our price comparison tools, our independent survey results from the Switcher.ie Awards can help customers choose the best providers and services for their needs.

We applaud every winner this year, especially the overall champions in both categories. Sky's four awards - including Broadband Provider of the Year - are a testament to quality content, fair pricing and outstanding customer service. We also congratulate GoMo, who scooped two awards, including Best Mobile Provider of the Year."

The driving force behind Artificial Intelligence (AI) is its potential to accelerate human progress and enhance our experiences in all areas of our lives, and in no area is this more significant than healthcare.

The healthcare sector has seen unbelievable progress in the last decade, including the rapid, cross-border innovation that saw us through the pandemic. However, with a rapidly growing population and the CSO estimating that the numbers aged 65 or over will double to 1.6m by 2051, together with rising healthcare costs, we will continue to face increased challenges to our health.

For the healthcare system and life sciences industry in Ireland, this means pressure to treat more patients, more cost-effectively and with better results.

The good news is that Ireland is in a strong position to face these challenges. Advances in genomics, bioinformatics, microscopy, medical imaging, and many other areas have created an avalanche of data that, if captured and analysed correctly, can be used to significantly improve patient outcomes.

A future of personalised healthcare

Using AI combined with High-Performance Computing (HPC), clinicians can develop truly bespoke treatment plans by analysing vast data sets, discovering unique patterns, and deriving insights at a speed no human could process. It has the potential to revolutionise patient care, promising improved efficiencies as well as more predictive and accessible care.

Previously, healthcare providers have relied on a one-size fits all approach, treating the illness rather than the individual. Innovative diagnostics and bespoke treatments have the potential to either prevent a condition arising from the outset, or failing that, to allow much earlier diagnosis and treatment highly tailored to each individual.

HPC is a key part of the personalisation puzzle, as it enables doctors and consultants in Ireland to derive actionable insights from large, complex data sets at lightning speed. In fact, genomic analysis that previously took days can now be achieved in minutes.

Whether using machine learning or AI to analyse medical images, detect patterns across populations, design medical devices, or solve problems such as how to predict protein structures, healthcare professionals need to be able to run compute-intensive workloads at high speed.

Electronic health record (EHR) systems, for example, are a potential source of real-time insight but may store millions of confidential patient records across a decentralized infrastructure.

As the volume of data grows, healthcare organizations can provide personalized care at lower costs by adopting new systems capable of processing large, disparate sources of information. HPC is providing healthcare organizations with the performance and efficiencies needed to turn data into actionable intelligence in near real-time to speed discoveries and improve care.

Personalisation doesn't just stop there - it can predict the future.

By looking at patients' unique genomic make-ups, doctors could design specific methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, estimating an individual's disease risk and developing tailored reactive or perhaps even proactive drug therapies. Advances in this space in the coming decade could make personalised diagnostics based on an individual's genetics more accessible than ever.

Trailblazing AI technologies

We're already seeing many exciting healthcare AI examples in practice, including within cancer diagnostics and treatment. In Europe alone, 16-17 million citizens are either being treated for cancer or are in post-treatment long-term remission, a figure that is only set to increase over the next 10-20 years. AI offers better detection and better treatment, including AI tools that spot tumours and lesions doctors might miss.

In Ireland, Dell Technologies and the University of Limerick's Digital Cancer Research Centre to develop an AI-driven platform that is helping researchers and healthcare professionals deliver precision...

Ireland's largest business improvement district, Sandyford Business District (SBD) and Trinity College Dublin have today announced a collaboration which will see both parties launch an innovative mobility hub project in the district. The goal of the project is to encourage and increase shared modes of transportation to help to boost decarbonisation efforts.

Known as the TRACT (TRAnsport Behaviour Change Trials) Project, the initiative is being spearheaded by Trinity College Dublin's Department of Civil Structural & Environmental Engineering, and it is funded by the Department of Transport and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

The decarbonisation of transport

Sandyford Business District has been selected as the strategic location of the hub for a 12-month trial period. During this time, a TRACT Mobility Hub app will be launched, before the Summer, which will provide multiple travel options on one platform, disseminate information about shared transport modes, and encourage a modal shift from personal vehicles to shared transport options.

Coinciding with today's announcement is the launch of a mobility survey which is designed to garner feedback and insights on the travel characteristics, behaviours and the potential barriers to the adoption of sustainable transport options in Sandyford. This marks the first of five surveys to be distributed, aimed at tracking behavioural changes.

By encouraging a shift away from private modes of transportation, in favour of shared modes of urban mobility, this project represents an important step forward towards achieving a greener, more sustainable transport sector in Ireland, as set out in the Government's Climate Action Plan.

CEO of Sandyford Business District Ger Corbett said: "The selection of Sandyford Business District as the first strategic location for the TRACT mobility hub project is an acknowledgment of the organisation's commitment to embracing solution-driven initiatives.

Every day 26,000 people commute to work in the district, so we are not only striving to transform how people move around Sandyford, but we are also hopeful that we can help to encourage people to drive away from personal vehicle usage, and instead embrace the shared transport options available.

If we all make a discernible effort, this will have a positive impact on our decarbonisation goals, while setting a benchmark for cleaner, greener urban mobility nationwide."

Professor Brian Caulfield of Trinity College Dublin said: "The research team is very excited to be working with Sandyford Business District on this sustainable mobility pilot project.

The application that we aim to launch later in the year will for the first time encompass public transport and shared mobility options for those living and working in the Sandyford area. The research team will examine the results from this pilot to determine how providing such information may ultimately reduce carbon emissions."

About Sandyford Business District:

Sandyford Business District (SBID) is home to Mastercard, Microsoft, Vodafone, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Facebook, Google, BNP Paribas and AIB among a host of other companies.

The Business Improvement District company, Sandyford BID CLG trading as Sandyford Business District, was established in January 2017 to represent the entire business community in the Sandyford Business District. It provides support for existing businesses within SBID and those looking to relocate and invest in the area. It has achieved considerable progress since its inception.

The business clusters in the Sandyford Business District include 118 Information and Communication companies; 99 MedTech companies; 63 Fintech companies; 8 Energytech companies; 27 Autotech companies; 17 Education and Childcare facilities; 49 Hospitality companies; and 117 Retail and Leisure companies.

See more breaking stories here.

Can Longevity be Biohacked?

In this weeks TF, Brett King interviews Swedish Biohacker and Futurist, Hannes Sjoblad. The two futurists get into the evolution of biohacking and longevity treatments, the merging of man and machine through implants, neural/brain control interfaces and advanced robotic prosthetics. This is advanced application of technology for the future of health and life span could be transformative.

Swedish Biohacker and Futurist, Hannes Sjoblad

Hannes Sjöblad is a well- known lecturer on the impact of technology on society and people.

Today in 2024, he is active as Chief Disrupti on Officer at the innovation house Epicenter , as a program manager for the Disruption Land podcast , as a board member of Techledarna and as a founder of the deeptech companies Meucci and Syndata .

Previous engagements include program manager for the award-winning climate documentary Jakten på Kraften , technology scout at the Swedish pavilion at the world exhibition Expo2020 and in interviews in e.g. NyTeknik , DN and GP .

He lectures in Swedish and English and has appeared at the Singularity Summit, TEDxBerlin, Webbdagarna, Biohacker Summit, Studentafton in Lund, and more.

Brett King Bestselling Author, Founder, Radio Host www.thefuturists.com www.brettking.com

See more podcasts here.

Crystel Robbins Rynne, Chief Operating Officer at HR software solutions provider HRLocker, explains how having the right tools and technology in place helps businesses comply with the new worker legislation

Employers have a host of changes to contend with in 2024 as new worker protections come into place. Notably, employees in Ireland now have the right to request remote work. Having plans in place to tackle the proposed changes should be a top priority for Irish businesses. Yet, according to our latest research, half of Irish SMEs are grappling with red tape, and 40% anticipate a significant increase in costs due to the new compliance requirements.

So, while the fresh wave of worker protections provides much-needed support for employees, employers are querying whether their companies can sustain the changes - and foot the bill. Topping the list of questions should be: Do you have the needed resources, infrastructure, and technology? If you can't answer, it's time to do some work - first, a quick recap.

The right to request remote work

Employees with at least six months of service now have the right to request remote working. If you're not already operating a remote work policy, you'll need to give serious consideration to employees who request it. If you refuse a request, you must provide reasons to the employee.

Employees must submit requests to work remotely at least eight weeks before the intended start date. Once you've received a request, you must respond within four weeks. However, this can be extended to eight weeks if you struggle to establish whether the request is viable.

Employers are required to weigh business and employee needs. Keep an eye out for a code of practice that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) intends to publish. The government has already provided a handy remote working checklist to help manage requests. You can also find resources online, such as remote working policy and duty of care templates.

What's your strategy?

Before you sign off on any remote work requests, laying the groundwork is vital. Having a specific remote work policy is crucial, especially when it comes to standardising your remote work approach. Some elements you should include are:

Practicalities (for example are they customer-facing? Or do they need to go on-site visits? For example)

Eligibility criteria (for example, the government criteria specifies at least six months of service)

Guidance on setting up a secure, safe, and healthy remote work environment

Provision of tools, equipment, and supplies

Core working hours, attendance, and time-tracking specifications

Preferred communication channels

Remote work options (from home, travelling, in coworking spaces)

Legal requirements, i.e. what laws and regulations require compliance

Tax allowances for remote working and any financial stipend you may choose to provide

If you're using HR software, add this policy to the employee portal so that individuals can return to it at a later date. Once you have a policy in place, don't forget to update your employee handbook and safety statement.

Communicating the specifics of your remote work policy and approach is essential. Make sure you use all the platforms available to you - employee HR portals, internal emails, and team meetings where you can field questions and respond to individual needs.

Consider updating or reissuing employment contracts when you accept requests to work remotely. Having software that allows document sharing makes it easier to manage- you can seamlessly make changes in the system and manage signatures and sign-offs.

Do you have the right tools and tech in place?

Remote work doesn't work if you still depend on pen and paper. Having the digital tools, processes, and infrastructure in place to support remote work is just as important as having a place to work.

First of all, you'll need a knowledge hub. That is to say, a cloud-based location where employees access resources and tools relating to their jobs, wherev...

HP Ireland issued its quarterly HP Wolf Security Threat Insights Report, showing attackers are continuing to find innovative ways to influence users and infect endpoints. The HP Wolf Security threat research team uncovered several notable campaigns including:

PDF Malware is on the rise: 11% of malware analysed in Q4 used PDFs to deliver malware, compared to just 4% in Q1 and Q2 2023. A notable example was a WikiLoader campaign using a fake parcel delivery PDF to trick users into installing Ursnif malware.

DarkGate campaign uses Ad tools to sharpen attacks: Malicious PDF attachments, posing as OneDrive error messages, direct users to sponsored content hosted on a popular ad network. This leads to DarkGate malware.

By using ad services, threat actors can analyse which lures generate clicks and infect the most users - helping them refine campaigns for maximum impact.

Threat actors can use CAPTCHA tools to prevent sandboxes from scanning malware and stopping attacks by ensuring only humans click.

DarkGate hands backdoor access to cybercriminals into networks, exposing victims to risks like data theft and ransomware.

A shift from Macros to Office exploits: In Q4, at least 84% of attempted intrusions involving spreadsheets, and 73% involving Word documents, sought to exploit vulnerabilities in Office applications - continuing the trend away from macro-enabled Office attacks. But macro-enabled attacks still have their place, particularly for attacks leveraging cheap commodity malware like Agent Tesla and XWorm.

Discord and TextBin being used to host malicious files: Threat actors are using legitimate file and text sharing websites to host malicious files. These sites are often trusted by organisations, helping the sites to avoid anti-malware scanners, increasing attackers' chances of remaining undetected.

Val Gabriel, Managing Director at HP Ireland, comments: "Our latest report highlights how cybercriminals are becoming more and more agile in understanding how we work and the easiest ways to breach systems. For example, the design of popular cloud services is always being refined, so when a fake error message appears, it won't necessarily raise an alarm, even if a user hasn't seen it before.

With GenAI generating even more convincing malicious content at little-to-no cost, distinguishing real from fake is expected to become more difficult.

"By isolating threats that have evaded detection tools on PCs - but still allowing malware to detonate safely - HP Wolf Security has specificinsight into the latest techniques used by cybercriminals in the fast-changing cybercrime landscape."

To date, HP Wolf Security customers have clicked on over 40 billion email attachments, web pages, and downloaded files with no reportedbreaches.

The report details how cybercriminals continue to diversify attack methods to bypass security policies and detection tools. Other findings include:

Archives were the most popular malware delivery type for the seventh quarter running, used in 30% of malware analysed by HP.

At least 14% of email threats identified by HP Sure Click bypassed one or more email gateway scanners.

The top threat vectors in Q3 were email (75%), downloads from browsers (13%) and other means like USB drives (12%).

Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc., comments: "Cybercriminals are applying the same tools a business might use to manage a marketing campaign to optimise their malware campaigns, increasing the likelihood the user will take the bait. To protect against well-resourced threat actors, organisations must follow zero trust principles, isolating and containing risky activities like opening email attachments, clicking on links, and browser downloads."

HP Wolf Security runs risky tasks in isolated, hardware-enforced virtual machines running on the endpoint to protect users, without impacting their productivity. It also captures detailed traces of attempted infections. HP's application isolation technolog...

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company responsible for delivering the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP), has announced in its end of year update that the project is on time and on budget with 216,898 of the premises covered by the network ready to connect.

NBI has also reported take-up rates approaching 50% in areas where the network has been live for more than 18 months, as it continues to meet the Government's policy objective to provide ubiquitous nationwide access to high-speed broadband.

The company also provided an update on the rollout of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) in communities and schools, as well its progress on bringing connectivity to the islands.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: "NBI Is pleased to report that at the end of our most recent contractual year which concluded 31st January 2024, we had surpassed our target to pass 185,000 premises with our new national high speed fibre network. Almost 217,000 premises were ready to connect at the end of January with over 68,000 already connected.

"We have also delivered on our target to connect 672 schools and 283 Broadband Connection Points in community locations in every county across the country. Ensuring that no-one is left behind in the provision of high-speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan, we are also reporting significant progress on our rollout to 27 offshore Islands with the network currently live on 10 of those and engineering survey works commenced or complete on 10 others.

We are confident that all 227 Deployment Areas covered in our programme will be completed on time and on budget."

Progress update:

Almost 80% of premises (449,367) have now completed the survey and design stages of the programme.

Almost 70% of the project (390,015 premises) has moved to or through construction, with over 40% of premises (238,241) now in the build complete category.

The number of premises passed and which can connect to the fibre network is 216,898, which means the target of 185,000 premises by the end of the current contract year in January 2024 was surpassed.

At the end of the current contract year in January 2024 over 68,000 (68,765) premises were connected to the NBI network which is significantly above all previous forecasts which envisaged 50,000 connections by the end of the current contract year.

Take-up rates are approaching 50% in areas where the network has been live for more than 18 months.

955 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) have been installed and are live with 672 of these in schools.

The NBI infrastructure is already live on 10 islands, surveying works are already complete on 7 islands, surveying works commenced on 3 islands at the end of last year and surveying works are pending for 7 islands.

Minister Ossian Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, said: "High-speed, reliable broadband is essential to support Ireland's growing economy and to connect communities, businesses, farms and schools across the country.

"he National Broadband Plan - one of the largest and most ambitious infrastructural projects since rural electrification - is on schedule and on budget. As a result, Ireland is now a global leader in digital connectivity and is on target to reach the European Commission's target of gigabit broadband for all by 2030."

National Broadband Ireland Chairman, David McCourt, said: "As Ireland's new national fibre network, NBI was established with the vision to be the best open-access wholesale network operator in the world.

To achieve that goal, NBI has established all its operations to ensure it provides simple, seamless integration for Retail Service Providers (RSPs) to join the network and start selling services at scale to end-users, supporting the Government's policy objective to ensure equal access to high-speed broadband for 100% of the population.

"In its successful execution of that vision, NBI has attracted 62 nation...

Guest post by Dana R. Fisher. Excerpted from Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action by Dana R. Fisher (Columbia University Press, 2024).

Despite numerous efforts to address the climate crisis at multiple levels of governance, policymaking has been ineffective at bringing about the emissions reductions necessary to limit global warming below the 1.5°C threshold identified by the IPCC and codified in the Paris Agreement.

So many Climate Promises

The call for more commitments from nations and businesses comes on top of growing concerns about the feasibility of the implementation of existing climate pledges. The UN secretary-general said the Sixth Assessment Report from IPCC Working Group 3 on mitigation documents "'a litany of broken climate promises' by governments and businesses." In short, even when countries do commit to climate goals, they are not following through on these commitments.

While countries vary substantially regarding their institutional makeup, these broken promises are apparent in most nations where adequate climate action continues to be out of reach. In the United States, for example, the country is expected to overshoot its original climate commitments set by President Barack Obama at the COP21 round of the climate negotiations in Paris in 2015.

These targets were classified as "insufficient" by the independent scientific team at Climate Action Tracker to keep global warming below 3°C.

In 2021, the Biden administration submitted an updated commitment prior to the COP26 round of negotiations that increases the country's pledge and gets the United States closer to achieving the emissions reduction goals of the Paris Agreement. And finally, after years of failed attempts to pass climate legislation through the U.S.

Congress and months of stops and starts, the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to address climate change along with other issues, passed and was signed into law in August 2022.

Although the United States having a federal climate policy that was approved by both the Congress and the president after so long is cause for celebration, this bill only made it to President Biden's desk for signature due to giveaways to the fossil fuel industry that were brokered by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

And, even with this new policy, the country is still not on a path to fulfill its climate commitments that would stabilize global warming at the 1.5° threshold set by the Paris Agreement.

Outside the United States, it is not much better. Although many other developed countries have filed Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that indicate plans to reduce their emissions in line with the IPCC's targets, the implementation of policies that achieve these intended goals are few and far between. Since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, many countries have found meeting their climate goals even more challenging.

While country responses have been insufficient, business efforts have been bipolar. In contrast to the swift and effective global response to ozone depletion, where a technological fix was discovered and companies encouraged governments to implement it, the climate crisis has no silver bullet. To date, companies representing non-carbon-emitting energy sources and technologies continue to butt heads against entrenched business interests that support an economy run on fossil fuels.

Recent research has documented the fact that fossil fuel companies have been well aware since the 1970s that burning fossil fuels would lead to a climate crisis. Instead of acting on that information to limit the risk of a crisis, companies buried their findings and misled the public so they could continue to expand their businesses.

At the same time that fossil fuel expansion continues, many companies and governments are investing heavily in the development of technology that will either remove carbon from the atmosphere or reduce solar absorption through geoengineering. Fossil fuel companies are t...

Guest post by Francis O'Haire, Group CTO of DataSolutions, a Climb Company

If 2023 was the year of cybersecurity, 2024 is the year for cyber resilience. With a rising wave of more sophisticated attacks and an ever-widening skills gap, the focus and spend on cybersecurity solutions is likely to intensify this year.

However, budgets aren't the only thing that businesses need to look at when it comes to protecting themselves. They also need to switch their mindset from "what if" to "what now", turning the question from "what if we are attacked?" to "what now that we've been breached?"

Cyber resilience is to cyber security what disaster recovery is to data backup. In each case, the first term is a holistic and strategic approach, while the latter is a tactical component. And cyber resilience is, in itself, a very important element in any business continuity strategy.

Bouncing back

While cyber security primarily focuses on the detection and prevention of attacks, cyber resilience emphasises an organisation's ability to bounce back from or withstand cyber incidents when they happen. In other words, cyber resilience essentially acknowledges that breaches will occur and focuses on minimising their impact.

This position of resilience involves planning and preparation, but also adaptability. It incorporates strategies for incident response, continuity, and rapid recovery. Essentially, it is the backup plan to ensure that data is recoverable, immutable, and secure.

It requires companies to have solutions and processes in place so that when a breach occurs, it can be managed efficiently and effectively. As part of this, critical systems and data need to be adequately safeguarded for the worst-case scenario. Meanwhile, organisations need to be able to continue operating to some degree during such incidents and return to normality as soon as possible.

Following through

Cyber resilience is also critical in terms of how manufacturers and software companies develop their products. They should take a "secure by design" approach which ensures that cybersecurity considerations are woven into every stage of the design process. It therefore becomes a requisite from the beginning, as opposed to a recommendation or after-thought.

With an increasing number of regulatory standards - including the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the EU Cyber Resilience Act, and NIS2 - encompassing the idea of cyber resiliency, organisations need to navigate this area carefully and uphold requirements.

For example, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is aimed at strengthening the IT security of financial entities and ensuring the sector can remain resilient in the event of severe operational disruption. Such resiliency could limit the disruption not only to a company working in the financial services sector but also other organisations and industries, as well as the wider economy.

Indeed, entire value chains need to be considered when addressing cyber resilience, as a disruption to one supplier or partner can bring an entire organisation to its knees.

Changing tact

The use of technology in addressing cyber resilience is undoubtedly important, but businesses need to move on from legacy cyber security approaches and consider solutions which better address the modern threat landscape.

Systems which focus on prevention rather than the mere detection of attacks need to be favoured and perimeter defences need to be augmented with more comprehensive "Zero Trust" architectures that can better address the protection of modern multi-cloud IT environments and dispersed workforces.

Such technologies and strategies can really help to overcome the challenges facing modern workplaces. They can deliver better visibility and improved monitoring, while controlling access and protecting data. In turn, this increases cyber resilience, which isn't just crucial for individual organisations but society as a whole.

We are more reliant on technology than ever before, whic...