Taoiseach Michael Martin has warned about AI enabled hacking of software and cyber attacks, which he described as "far more concerning" and more "dangerous".
Mr Martin made these comments on his way into Cabinet today, saying cyber attacks are global and a "constant danger" to both the private and public sectors.
This comes after fridges and freezers across several supermarkets in European countries were targeted by hackers, which led to temperatures increasing and food to spoil. Reports has said that several SuperValu stores were affected by this yesterday, including Dublin's Ranelagh, Lucan and Blanchardstown, as well as outlets in Waterford and Bray, Co Wicklow.
Tonnes of food were destroyed, leaving many shelves and freezers emptied.
“There are ongoing attacks almost on a weekly, daily basis from hacktivists, and in this case, it’s through various older machinery pertaining to refrigeration", Mr Martin told reporters. “It’s very, very worrying because there are different actors involved in terms of cybersecurity undermining the private sector and attempting to undermine public utilities".
He continued: “So it’s a big, big concern and now, with AI-enabled hacking and AI-enabled cybersecurity attacks, it is becoming far more concerning and even more dangerous than ever before".
The Fianna Fáil leader also stated that Ireland must develop “very strong resilience”.
He added the National Cyber Security Centre, led by director Richard Browne, has built up “very strong capacity”.
Martin stated: “We work with other organisations across Europe and across the world because one has to collaborate on these issues.
“But cybersecurity is a big threat to the country. It’s a big threat to democracies, and we need to be very, very vigilant at all times in respect of it".
The Government were accused by Independent Senator Gerard Craghwell of a lack of cybersecurity awareness for years. He said that this is a threat to Ireland's foreign direct investment, with the SuperValu attacks underlining the need for the Government to act swiftly.
In Europe, around 40 Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were affected, as well as a number of shops in Sweden, Estonia and The Netherlands.
Elsewhere, The Irish Sun had reported that Sabcobel, a Belgian company which makes some of the affected fridges, have said that the units' evaporators were switched to defrost mode, causing them to warm up.
The same method was also reportedly used in last month's incident, which affected hundreds of supermarkets in France, while a number of UK supermarkets have also been affected recently.
It has been feared that Russia were behind this online attack on systems.
