Ireland is well positioned to develop a new generation of technology start-ups focused on information security, a seminar heard today. As the protection of information becomes a top-level concern for organisations large and small Ireland has the potential to develop dozens of new security companies dealing with problems ranging from protecting consumers online to helping organisations detect security breaches.

Mathieu Gorge, CEO, VigiTrust , Patrick Smith, CEO, FraudHalt and Cian Kinsella, CEO, Digiprove prior to speaking at the ISSA Ireland Seminar 

The seminar entitled Start-up Opportunities in Information Security was held in NovaUCD and was organised by the Irish Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).

Addressing the seminar Owen O’Connor, President, ISSA Ireland said, “Everyone working in information security has encountered un-met needs where organisations know that a security problem exists but where technology is not available or mature enough to solve the problem. Each of these un-met needs, each piece of inadequate technology, each manual process used today, represents an opportunity for Irish security professionals to launch a security start-up and solve these problems.”

The seminar also heard that Ireland has both the track record and talent pool needed to foster a cluster of security companies, building on the legacy of companies such as Baltimore Technologies and the many multinational firms who have operated Irish security teams in the past.

O’Connor continued, “Irish security professionals are among the most experienced in Europe because of the range of our experience, our exposure to large multinational corporations and in recent years our increased educational opportunities and academic research in security. These experienced Irish professionals are ideal candidates to form new businesses in areas such as cloud computing, protection of digital content and the prevention of security breaches.”

The seminar was also addressed by the CEOs of successful Irish security firms such as Mathieu Gorge, VigiTrust, which helps companies with credit card security; Cian Kinsella, Digiprove, whose technology proves ownership of digital content and Patrick Smith, FraudHalt, which has developed innovative products to tackle fraud.

In response to the strong interest in information security opportunities ISSA Ireland intends to hold further events later this year to facilitate the development of a new generation of Irish security companies.

ENDS

23 July 2009

For further information contact: Micéal Whelan, NovaUCD, t: (01) 716 3712, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie.

Editors Notes

The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is an international professional body for information security personnel. ISSA has been in operation for 25 years as a volunteer-driven organisation, beginning in the United States and now representing over 10,000 members in 70 countries. ISSA Ireland is the Irish chapter of ISSA and was formed in 2003 to provide training, development and networking opportunities for Irish information security professionals. Owen O’Connor is the President of ISSA Ireland which is managed by a 9-person board of elected volunteers.

NovaUCD is University College Dublin’s €11 million Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx.