1 Introduction Ireland is among the leading ranks of EU Member States in terms of the uptake and use of digital technologies (7th out of the 28 EU Member States in the European Commission Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2019). In practical terms, this means that the internet and the vast array of technology and devices connected to it have played a central role in delivering and enabling our economic success. Moreover, they have also allowed for considerable improvements in productivity and quality of life, and for greater efficiency and sustainability in the use of resources. However, these same technologies also bring with them an embedded set of risks and vulnerabilities. This is a dynamic issue; it is rendered more complex and challenging as systems become more embedded, connected to the internet and integrated into virtually every aspect of our lives. Meeting this challenge, both in terms of the resilience of key infrastructure and services and the ability of the State to manage and respond to incidents is already critical to the social and economic wellbeing of the State and its people. It is not a simple task. Cyber security brings with it a complex web of issues to be dealt with. Internet enabled and connected technologies already permeate every aspect of our lives, both at a personal level and in providing the services that we rely upon. The diverse nature of these various sectors, with different ownership models and technologies, means that there is no single model or solution, technical or otherwise, that will suit every sector. In formulating a national response, a dynamic and flexible approach is required, one in which different solutions are applied according to the nature of the sector and to the risk posed to society, to human life, and to the economy. The global nature of the internet has significant geopolitical implications also - infrastructure of any kind attached to the internet is vulnerable to threats from anywhere on the planet. As such, the geography of national security has changed, posing some profound national security policy questions for Ireland. In the first instance, the global management of the Internet, how it is governed and how States and others behave and act, is now a key national concern. Secondly, the security of every process, service and piece of infrastructure in Ireland, from the electoral process through to military infrastructure and the security of public sector data has to be approached in a different way, because they are all, to some extent, dependent on connected devices and can now be targeted directly from anywhere on the planet. Lastly, the nature of our economy has changed radically. Ireland is home, according to some estimates, to over 30% of all EU data, and to the European Headquarters of many of the 8