WEALTH August 19, 2026 0 Comments

Ireland’s Presidency: The Hidden Cyber Threat That Could Shake Europe’s Powerhouse—Are You Ready?

Ever wondered what it feels like to be the center of a digital storm? Well, Ireland’s just stepped into exactly that role, hosting not only EU’s top political brass but also becoming an all-you-can-hack buffet for cyber crooks. With over 30,000 delegates from 47 countries converging until December, the Emerald Isle suddenly morphs into Europe’s cyber hotspot — a prime target where disruption could send shockwaves far beyond its shores. Now, if you’re running a business here, ignoring the cyber onslaught isn’t just risky — it’s downright reckless. Amid geopolitical chaos and the savvy rise of AI-powered cyber threats, the call from experts at PwC is loud and clear: gear up your cyber defenses ASAP or face potentially catastrophic fallout. Feeling the pressure yet? You should be. LEARN MORE

Irish businesses need to step-up cyber defences in the wake of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, PwC experts tell Sorcha Corcoran

The exposure to heightened cyber attacks during Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) is significant, not only in terms of their potential cost but also their disruption to business, according to PwC Ireland.

Between now and the end of December, Ireland is hosting EU government leaders, heads of state and the European political community from up to 47 countries.

This includes 22 informal ministerial meetings and around 250 additional events attended by more than 30,000 delegates.

“The country becomes the temporary routing hub for sensitive EU political, economic, sanctions and foreign-policy material, and a priority target for state-aligned threat actors, hacktivists and organised cyber criminals,” Will O’Brien, director, Cybersecurity Practice, PwC Ireland, says.

“Ireland is widely recognised as Europe’s largest data-hosting cluster, alongside several transatlantic subsea cable landing points.

“Disruption here carries continent-wide consequences. We’re looking at cyber threats likely rising sharply and Irish businesses really need to be prepared.”

The EU Presidency window does not exist in isolation.

It coincides with continuing war in Ukraine and Middle East instability where there has been increased threat activity, including significant daily hacktivism.

Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently confirmed that, as a nation, we’re in “a heightened cyberrisk environment”.

“The Irish Presidency amplifies an already deteriorating baseline. Threat actors were active against the Cypriot Presidency, with cyber activity centred on airports.

“Artificial intelligence [AI] models capable of autonomously identifying and exploiting system vulnerabilities can quickly move from defenders’ hands into those of attackers,” O’Brien explains.

“For Ireland, as a leading digital and data hub, this underlines a key point: Presidency-related risk is amplified by the wider global threat environment, not driven by EU activity alone.”

PwC’s Annual Threat Dynamics 2026: Cyber Threats in Motion report, published in March, finds that the global cyber threat landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace.

Lines are blurring and the rules of engagement have changed.

The research shows that 60 per cent of leaders are increasing cyber risk investment in response to geopolitical volatility, yet only 6 per cent feel very capable of withstanding attacks.

“Geopolitical turbulence continues to influence the threat landscape, with greater disruption at strategic inflection points seen around the world. Financial crime, insider threats, digital-to-physical security concerns and supply-chain compromise are converging into a single pressure point,” Len McAuliffe, partner, Cybersecurity & Privacy, PwC Ireland, says.

“Threat actors are simultaneously targeting executives, developers, suppliers, hiring processes and financial workflows from multiple angles. Cyber criminals are using AI to find new ways to accelerate threats through the blind corners of edge devices [i.e. sensors, smartphones etc], supply chains and cloud ecosystems.”

In 2025, PwC identified an almost 60 per cent increase in ransomware victims globally whose sensitive data had been exposed and published on a ‘leak site’ (increasing from 4,837 victims in 2024 to 7,635 victims in 2025).

“From record-level ransomware leak-site victimisation and crypto heists to pervasive compromises of technologies and sustained espionage campaigns targeting critical infrastructure, we’re seeing an increasingly capable and adaptive threat landscape,” McAuliffe notes.

“Cyber criminals are employing their full tradecraft, effortlessly navigating identity, cloud, edge and application layers with unprecedented precision.”

AI is a core component of cyber criminals’ tradecraft, he continues.

“They’re using AI to automate reconnaissance [i.e. scan information, gather intelligence, identify vulnerabilities etc], generate convincing phishing lures, accelerate malware development and scale social engineering across languages and platforms.

“The time between an AI capability being publicly released and its weaponisation by cyber criminals is shrinking dramatically. Autonomous AI agents capable of executing attacks without human intervention are also a prime concern.”

This being said, McAuliffe adds, AI also represents the single greatest opportunity for defenders to match the pace, as it enables faster detection, automated containment and intelligence-led decision-making at scale.

Ireland's presidency — Len McAuliffe, partner,
Cybersecurity & Privacy, PwC
Ireland

“Businesses need to be on red alert and step up their cyber defences at this time. Organisations that are resilient, and have undertaken appropriate cyber risk assessments, will be much more able to defend any attackers,” O’Brien says.

“We urge all businesses to take action now and follow steps to mitigate cyber risk.”

Photo: Will O’Brien, director, Cybersecurity Practice, PwC Ireland