It has been reported that criminal organisations are targeting Irish companies by enlisting foreign hackers to break into computer systems and hold data to ransom.

The Irish Computer crime investigation unit is currently investigating a number of cases which include hackers breaking into systems and encrypting data, and subsequently requesting money in order to decrypt the data.

Companies in Ireland need to realise the threats posed by not adequately securing their IT infrastructure. One leading security expert was quoted as saying “Irish businesses have a tendency to rely on their IT support company to secure the network , this can have catastrophic consequences as many IT support companies know very little about security”.