UCC-Defence Forces Lecture Series 'Cyber Security in Ireland - Present Reality and Future Potential' by Pat Larkin and Ken Sheehan.

16 Jun 2021

The next lecture in the UCC-Defence Forces Lecture Series  'Cyber Security in Ireland - Present Reality and Future Potential' by Pat Larkin, CEO Ward Solutions and Commandant and Ken Sheehan, Senior Communications and Information Services Officer, Officer Commanding of 1 Brigade CIS Company.

The lecture will take place on-line on Thursday 24^th June 2021 at 6.30-8.00pm (Irish/UK time) via this link (- no registration or log-in is required, but we kindly request that you go to the link shortly before the start time of 6.30pm). The lecture will also be recorded so that people may view it later if they wish.

Questions regarding Ireland's cyber capabilities have come into sharper focus since the recent cyber attack on the HSE. Before we can discuss the solution, we need to understand the problem. What is the current situation, how are international organisations, Ireland and other states engaging with the cyber domain? Considering the potential changes required following the HSE cyber attack, what are the possible steps that could be taken to improve the State’s cyber capability? 

Pat Larkin is CEO of Ward Solutions one of Irelands largest indigenous cyber providers and board member of Cyber Ireland. Prior to his role in Ward Solutions, Pat served 14 years in the Irish Defence Forces from 1984 to 1998, retiring as a Captain, in both line Artillery Corps and the Communication and Information Services corps as level 3 data security and IT operations officer. During his time in the Defence Forces Pat served overseas with the United Nations in Lebanon. Pat holds a BSc in Computer Applications from Dublin City University.

Commandant Ken Sheehan has been a member of the Defence Forces since 2002, and has deployed on peacekeeping operations in Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. He is a Senior Communications and Information Services Officer, and is currently Officer Commanding of 1 Brigade CIS Company. He holds an MA in International Relations, a HDip in Leadership, Management and Contemporary Security, and a BSc in Computer Science, from UCC. He is currently completing a MSc in Forensic Computing and Cyber Crime Investigation.  

The UCC-Defence Forces Lecture Series aims to contribute to informed public debate on contemporary global security challenges, how such problems may impact on Ireland and how Ireland can contribute to addressing regional and global security threats. The lecture series is jointly organised by the Defence Forces and UCC’s Colleges of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences and Business and Law. Previous lectures in the series can be viewed at: https://www.ucc.ie/en/government-and-politics/research/departmentofgovernmentandpoliticsguestlecturesandseminars/ucc-defenceforceslectureseries/

For more on this story contact:

Prof. Andrew Cottey

EU Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration

Department of Government and Politics

University College Cork