37pc of Irish enterprises mandate security training for staff, CSO data shows

This year’s CSO survey on the ICT practices of Irish enterprises revealed data on security, robotics usage and how environmental impacts of tech are considered.

With cyberattacks on the rise, more than a third of Irish enterprises are requiring staff to undertake ICT security training.

That’s according to this year’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) survey on how Irish enterprises use ICT.

Last year, the survey highlighted how companies were using technology to aid their business during the pandemic. This year’s survey of around 4,000 businesses re-introduced previous items on ICT security last asked on 2019’s questionnaire.

It revealed that 36pc of enterprises offered voluntary ICT security training, while one-quarter made ICT security training compulsory and 37pc included ICT security training as a contractual requirement of employment.

In 2022, 14pc of enterprises experienced an unavailability of ICT services from either an unintentional cause or an intentional attack, while 2pc experienced a destruction or corruption of data, and 1pc experienced a disclosure of confidential data.

Devin Zibulsky, statistician in the CSO’s Business Statistics Division, said that this year’s survey results reveal “a slowdown in the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on ICT practices” compared to last year.

This year, the percentage of enterprises that had an increase in web sales due to the pandemic was 15pc, compared with 19pc in 2021. Almost a quarter (24pc) of enterprises increased their use of social media this year. However, this was down from 31pc in 2021.

“These decreases may reflect the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions and the widespread adoption of digital technology that had already occurred prior to 2022,” said Zibulsky.

Enterprises were also asked about their use of robots and about the environmental considerations of ICT.

Regarding robots, 4pc of all enterprises reported that they use either industrial or service robots. Among larger enterprises, this figure rose to 20pc.

For enterprises that do use robots, the majority (71pc) use them for precision, while 58pc use them for workplace safety reasons. A third said they used robots to expand the range of goods and services they can provide.

Other reasons for robot usage included high labour costs (31pc), difficulty recruiting personnel (18pc) and tax incentives (12pc).

When asked about the environment, more than half (56pc) of respondents said they considered sustainability when selecting ICT services.

Overall, the vast majority of Irish enterprises (97pc) have broadband internet access in 2022.

Reporting: Silicon Republic