Cybersecurity experts from Ireland and abroad gathered in Kilkenny to discuss AI security, quantum readiness and the growth of the industry.
Yesterday (9 October), Irish cybersecurity cluster Cyber Ireland held its annual conference at the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny.
The Cyber Ireland National Conference (CINC) 2025 saw cybersecurity companies and professionals from all over Ireland – and abroad – gather for a day of networking, panel discussions and keynote talks relating to the country’s cybersecurity industry.
“There’s huge potential for growth for the cybersecurity sector in Ireland,” said Cyber Ireland cluster manager Dr Eoin Byrne speaking to SiliconRepublic.com. “There’s over 500 companies here, employing almost 8,000 people, revenues of €2.7bn per annum and contributing over €1bn to the economy each year.”
Throughout the event, attendants could drop in on a number of sessions that looked at a variety of trends and topics influencing Irish cybersecurity, such as AI security, regulations and compliance.
One such session saw Irish cyber expert Jacky Fox moderate a discussion focusing on the global threat landscape and the effect of rising geopolitical tensions.
Attendants for this session heard from leading professionals such as Trend Micro’s Robert McArdle, Centripetal’s Dave Ahn, National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Richard Browne, and deputy director of the National Cyber Security Centre of Lithuania Agnė Ignatavičienė, who delved into international cyberthreats and how organisations can maintain resilience.
Another panel moderated by Munster Technological University’s chair of cybersecurity Dr Hazel Murray featured a number of speakers that examined the subject of quantum computing and its influence on cybersecurity.
While broaching topics such as post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution, panellists such as the Walton Institute’s Dr Deirdre Kilbane, Amazon Web Services Patrick Palmer and NCSC’s Orla Dempsey all reiterated one vital piece of advice for Ireland’s cyber industry: now’s the time to start preparing for a post-quantum landscape.
“Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?” asked Dempsey.
This year’s event also included a number of stalls featuring many of the conference’s sponsors, such as UKG, Enterprise Ireland, Centripetal, Integrity360 and Triangle.
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, David Quirke, a senior director for strategic operations at UKG spoke about the networking benefits of CINC.
“It’s a good networking experience, a good networking event,” he said. “It’s also an opportunity for us to try and attract new talent by talking about who UKG are.”
He also spoke about how the Irish cybersecurity industry has seen major growth recently, especially in the south-east, and praised the increase in educational opportunities at institutions such as South East Technological University.
“I think there’s huge growth in the area, I think there’s a huge amount of talent now in Ireland that wasn’t there.”
Adelle Desouza, senior director of field and partner marketing for EMEA at Centripetal – which released a report on the day highlighting how 349,000 networks in Ireland are unprotected by active cyberthreats – the importance of an event like CINC lies in collaboration.
“I don’t think anyone here is under the illusion that the cybercriminals can take a day off,” she said.
“Without events like these, we can’t get together as a community and learn from others and share what we see.”
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