Cyber Risk & Data Privacy

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Last month the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources published the Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy 2015-2017 (the Strategy).

In 2013 the World Economic Forum classified cyber related threats as one of the highest of all global risks from the perspective of impact and likelihood. This assessment was echoed at a national level in the Government’s 2014 National Risk Assessment. The development and proliferation of Information and Communications technology (ICT) has transformed the way in which society operates. There are few sectors of both society and the economy which do not rely on some form of ICT for their continued operation. This increased dependence has led to increased risk with threats such as hacking, cyber-crime, hacktivism, cyber espionage, software failures and even human error posing a direct threat not only to the daily lives of Irish citizens but also to the economy and the State. Continue Reading Government publishes National Cyber Security Strategy

On 15 June 2015, the European Council of Ministers reached agreement on its version of the draft Data Protection Regulation .  Trilogue negotiations between the Council, the European Parliament and the EU Commission will start next week on 24 June, witht he aim of reaching a final agreement by the end of 2015.Continue Reading Council of Ministers reaches agreement on proposed Data Protection Regulation

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or Drones, as they are more commonly known, have traditionally been regarded as a military tool, frequently featuring in media reports on US military action as well as TV dramas such as ‘Homeland’ and ‘House of Cards’. They are however, being increasingly put to a much broader spectrum of uses.

Drones have been used by humanitarian organisations to deliver food and medical supplies to crisis-stricken areas. Following typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, drones were used by international relief agency Medair to map terrain and create a detailed system of 3D aerial images of the region to make relief efforts more efficient. Amazon’s Prime Air development project has also garnered a lot of attention for its goal to use drones to deliver goods to customers in 30 minutes or less. Drones are also now available to buy in electronics stores and are used to capture videos and photographs by amateur and professional photographers. Continue Reading Drone Regulation Takes Flight

On 14 May 2015, the Private Security (Licensing and Standards) (Private Investigator) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No 195 of 2015) were signed into law. The Regulations mark the outcome of a Private Security Authority (PSA) public consultation conducted last January following high profile prosecutions for breaches of data protection law in the Private Investigator (PI) Industry (see previous blogs here and here).

The Regulations, which come into effect on 1 November 2015, shall make it an offence for any contractor to offer a service as a PI without a licence after that date. It …

Continue Reading Licensing of Private Investigators mandatory from 1 November 2015