Guest post by Colm Hyland CyberQuest

Captain Jack Boyle in O'Casey's 'Juno and the Paycock' would proclaim and use the 'chassis', as his excuse to do nothing. What's the point after all, an individual can do nothing to stop the madness.

When it comes to Cybersecurity, it's not acceptable to do nothing. Cybersecurity has become a priority, one that touches our economy, our democracy, our families and our future.

As we welcome the recent improvements in Defence and Maritime Strategy and anticipate the rework of the National Cyber Strategy; there is a critical dimension we cannot afford to overlook: the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economy. EU Regulations are spelling out the need for greater accountability for public and private sectors.

SMEs are our largest employer and greatest source of innovation, many are part of the Multinationals' Supply Chain; from start-ups to businesses with 250 people, their security is essential. They require professional improvements. Cyber professionals whether full-time, part-time or contracted must be accredited. The interventions they provide; education, software or professional services need to be standards based and open to adaptation.

We have the standards and regulations that guide the sector, we need to ensure that people and services meet the basic requirements and are continuously improving. Attack surfaces become more complicated and difficult to defeat, we need our people on high alert. This can only be achieved by training and retraining. Our Engineering and Manufacturing Sectors have done this before: pursuing excellence through Continuous Improvement tools and driving towards internationally accredited Quality Systems.

We have the improvement methodology. We must use this to strengthen SMEs to consolidate the future of Ireland from both an economic and technological point of view. In parallel, having North and South working closer on Cyber security is both essential and a huge bonus.

We are not starting from scratch, we have many initiatives and programmes in play. We need a collaborative and harmonious ecosystem to raise digital and cybersecurity standards. The ecosystem can include those currently involved such as, multinational companies but change the emphasis to private and public, indigenous organisations. Academic and training organisations are here to service the needs of all of our Citizens: students, apprentices, trainees, employed, underemployed and unemployed. We need more Trainers, Women and Neurodiverse people in cyber security.

Collaboration must be at the heart of this system; communication is the circulation. Participants in this process need to be conscious that the work to be done is for the greater good of Citizens, the Country and its ambitions.

The current components are the following, others will materialise:

Cybersecurity Awareness – for all; in every SME, parish, club and charity.

Cyber Skills – defined by the latest version of cyber frameworks.

Training – that complements the college offering and is fast tracked, dynamic, developmental and leads to career progression

Supporting local businesses – meeting the needs of SMEs and supporting indigenous software and service companies.

Job creation – building on all of the interconnected components to create jobs for unemployed, career changers and those who would like to move into a career in cyber from their current employment.

Collaboration is at the heart of improvement and minimises the chaos but limiting this to academics and multinational people minimises the quality of the debate and the outputs.

SMEs are critical strategically and economically; their inclusion is not just necessary but compulsory.

This Vision of creating one single initiative where everything moves in cooperation within the ecosystem provides value for money. Public money must be spent in a structured manner. It reduces isolated groups being funded without having a clearly aligned strategy.

The ultimate objec...