Ireland is “ground zero” among EU countries as a target for hybrid attacks and influence operations by Russia, the Dáil’s only TD with high-ranking military experience has said.
The Independent Kildare Deputy Cathal Berry is a former second-in-command of the elite Army Ranger Wing with extensive overseas experience with the Defence Forces.
“If you are looking to affect a western country with extensive assets and a poor security culture then Ireland is ground zero,” he said on Sunday.
“Here the Russians get maximum impact for minimum effort. It is a playground for them.”
He said it came as no surprise to him that members of the Oireachtas have been targeted for recruitment by Russian operatives.
Mr Berry was responding to an article in The Sunday Times claiming that a politician working in the Oireachtas has been recruited by Russian intelligence services as “an agent of influence”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris also said on Sunday that no one should be surprised by Russian attempts to influence and distort public opinion in Ireland.
Mr Berry said Russia no longer had the military strength to match Nato in conventional warfare but had become an expert in asymmetrical warfare and so-called hybrid operations.
“Russia has written the manual on hybrid operations, misinformation, disinformation, cyber attacks, anything that’s deniable or that’s very difficult to attribute to them.”
He said that Ireland did not have adequate security and that was compounded by the fact it was the European base for so many US multinationals and technology companies.
[ Ireland ‘not immune’ to Russian espionage, says TaoiseachOpens in new window ]
“We don’t realise how vulnerable we are. The Russians would view us as America’s 51st first state, with so much technology with so much data housed in Ireland.
“So not only are we a potential target, but also our lack of security awareness doubles down on that potential targeting because we’re clueless in relation to national security.”
Mr Berry said there was such a poor security culture in Ireland that many of the 220 members of the Oireachtas were not aware they were potential targets, even in terms of the accessibility of their mobile phones.
He said the State needed a national security strategy and for that area to be resourced.
Speaking at an event at Glasnevin Cemetery, the Taoiseach said Ireland was “not immune” to Russian attempts to sway public opinion.
“It shouldn’t come as any surprise to any of us that Russia seeks to influence public opinion, seeks to distort public opinion, and is active in relation to that across the world, and that Ireland is not immune from that.”
[ Ireland needs to beef up protection against terrorism, espionage and cyberattacksOpens in new window ]
The Sunday Times reported that the alleged Russian agent offered to help establish links between Russians and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland during Brexit talks, despite not having links to said paramilitary groups.
The newspaper reported that investigators have found no evidence of the parliamentarian – who was monitored by gardaí and the Defence Forces – receiving payments from Russia. The Sunday Times claims that the Russians used a “honeypot” – an agent who seeks to romantically engage a target – as part of the recruitment operation.
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