The Government has started the process of creating a dedicated military cyber command which will eventually grow to 300 personnel and be capable of both defensive and offensive cyber operations.
Under the plans, which form part of a large increase in military investment and capability, the Defence Forces will establish a Joint Cyber Defence Command which will be led by a general. It will take over cyber operations from the existing Communications and Information Services (CIS) Corps.
As well as protecting Irish military operations from cyber threats at home and abroad, the new command will be tasked with enhancing national cyber defence and responding to critical incidents, such as the 2021 HSE cyberattack, during which CIS personnel played a key role.
The goal, according to the Department of Defence, is to provide military capacity “to support the full spectrum of cyberoperations”.
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The cyber space is seen as an increasingly important area of military operations. Nato, for example, has named it as the “fifth domain” of warfare, along with land, sea, air and space. Under the plans, the Defence Forces intends to adopt a similar doctrine.
The need for a dedicated cyber command was laid out in detail in the recommendations of the 2022 Commission on the Defence Forces report.
It said it would provide the Defence Forces with the cyber capabilities to defend the State “from a military attack and deterring aggressive acts against the State in the cyber domain or other military domains such as land, sea and air”.
As it stands, the Defence Forces does not have the ability to defend comprehensively against armed aggression conducted through either cyber or non-cyber means, it said.
Following publication of the 2022 report, the Government committed to enacting what the report termed Level of Ambition 2, which would see military spending increase by 50 per cent by 2028 and the establishment of, among other things, a cyber command.
Under these plans, 100 specially trained military personnel will be recruited into the Joint Cyber Defence Command, which will be led by Brigadier General Brian Cleary, and its main operational body, the Joint Cyber Operations Unit.
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has started the process by approving the creation of 19 additional Defence Forces posts specialising in cyber defence. Another 10 civilian cyber defence specialists will be recruited through the Public Appointments Service and embedded in the unit.
The department has also advertised for a Defence Forces Civilian Cyber Defence Lead, at the grade of principal officer, to oversee the civilian staff.
The new command will have three main tasks. Defensive cyber operations will involving securing systems against attack and espionage. Intelligence operations will maintain threat awareness in the cybersphere, including “limited strategic reconnaissance”.
Last, it will be responsible for “offensive cyber operations for defensive purposes”. This could involve launching targeted cyberattacks on the systems of adversaries, including state and non-state actors who pose a threat to the State or the Defence Forces.
Such offensive operations should be in line with the “evolving norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace” and Irish foreign policy, the commission’s report stated.
Once Level of Ambition 2 is reached, the Government has committed to moving towards Level of Ambition 3. This is the commission’s most ambitious set of recommendations and would see defence spending increase three-fold.
Under these plans, the cyber command would increase to 300 personnel and it would have a similar status to the Air Corps and Naval Service, with its commander reporting directly to the Chief of Defence.
