The UK and Ireland need to form a joint cyber-task force to deal with the growing online threat to both nations in a post-Brexit world, a leading industry non-profit has claimed.
Paul Dwyer, president of the International Cyber Threat Task Force (ICCTF), argued over the weekend that current Brexit negotiations are failing to address security concerns on both sides.
“There are concerns from the business and cybersecurity communities about the implications Brexit will have on existing cybersecurity, privacy and data-protection laws,” he said, according to the Irish Times.
“Many Irish and UK businesses don’t want to bet on the negotiations between the EU and the UK going well.”
It’s unclear exactly which challenges Dwyer is referring to, although the UK has already signaled its intent to implement the EU GDPR in domestic law via the Digital Protection Bill, and to also transpose the NIS Directive into domestic legislation.
“The group would deal with the specific challenges arising from the new EU cyber legislation, Brexit and work with governments in order to protect businesses in Ireland and the UK,” Dwyer said.
“The overwhelming array of sophisticated cyber-attack techniques and the sheer amount of cyber-criminals combined with a potential legal impotency post-Brexit is a real concern for many businesses. What we need is for Ireland to take the lead on this and work with the UK to establish a joint cyber-task force to deal with these issues post-Brexit.”
There are concerns that post-Brexit Britain will be more at risk from cyber-threats as the NCA, GCHQ and other bodies will share less information with their European counterparts.
It’s also been claimed that it could get harder for the cybersecurity industry in the UK to recruit the brightest and best talent from the continent, which is especially concerning given the parlous state of the jobs market already.
An AlienVault survey of over 300 IT professionals at Infosecurity Europe this year found that 38% fear leaving the EU could make the UK more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.