Ireland: Cybersecurity

The European Commission has published an Action Plan addressing the dual-edged nature of frontier artificial intelligence models in cybersecurity, outlining how the EU will harness AI's defensive capabilities while protecting against AI-powered cyber threats. Through nine key actions spanning 2026-2027, the plan establishes frameworks for safe AI evaluation, structured access to advanced AI capabilities, and the scaling of European sovereign AI cybersecurity solutions across critical infrastructure sectors.

On 30 June 2026, the Irish Data Protection Commission (“DPC”) published its annual case studies booklet (“Booklet”) alongside its 2025 annual report (“Report”).

The EU's Cyber Resilience Act introduces mandatory cybersecurity obligations for products with digital elements placed on the EU market. Understanding the five key manufacturer obligations—from secure-by-design requirements to incident reporting deadlines—is essential for compliance with this groundbreaking regulatory framework that elevates cybersecurity from best practice to legal requirement.

On 18 February 2026, the Irish Government published its Digital & AI Strategy (“Strategy”). The 95 page document entitled “Digital Ireland: Connecting our People, Securing our Future” sets out 20 high-level objectives, supported by 90 specific deliverables, which aim to ensure that Ireland remains a “digital leader” in an increasingly competitive global environment.

The European Commission recently proposed a new cybersecurity package to strengthen the EU’s cybersecurity resilience and capabilities Since the adoption of the Cybersecurity Act in 2019, the geopolitical landscape has changed, with a significant worsening of the cyber threat landscape, affecting critical sectors in the EU.

This is its updated National Digital and AI Strategy, setting out 20 high-level objectives supported by 90 specific deliverables across seven policy areas: public services, enterprise, digital...

There has been rapid adoption of artificial intelligence ("AI") technologies in Ireland. According to the Irish Central Statistics Office, the number of Irish businesses using AI increased from 8% in 2023 to 15% in 2024.

The second Network and Information Security Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (NIS2) took effect on 17 October 2024 across the EU. It represents a significant step forward in the EU's efforts to strengthen...

On 14 July 2025, the European Commission (Commission) released its first guidelines under Article 28(4) of the Digital Services Act (DSA) (Guidelines), which will apply to all online platforms accessible...