Research centre assembles expertise in digital resilience, infrastructure protection and AI accountability
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Pictured: Prof Hitesh Tewari and Prof Maria Grazia Porcedda
Trinity College Dublin has announced the opending of the Centre for Digital Security and Societal Resilience, a multidisciplinary research centre designed to address the technological, economic, governance and societal challenges shaping Ireland’s digital future.
The Centre brings together expertise from across science, technology, engineering, law, business, social sciences, and the humanities to create Ireland’s first integrated academic platform focused on digital security and societal resilience.
Home to one of Europe’s most digitally connected economies, Ireland serves as a major data gateway. It hosts many of the world’s leading technology firms and approximately three-quarters of subsea cables in the Northern Hemisphere pass through or near Irish waters, making Ireland central to global connectivity.
This connectivity has driven economic growth, but it also disproportionately exposes Ireland to digital risk. From the protection of subsea cables and energy infrastructure to AI-enabled fraud, hybrid threats and threats to democratic processes, the digital security landscape has expanded far beyond traditional information security.
The 2021 cyber-attack on the HSE highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the need for stronger national preparedness. At the same time, major European regulatory reforms, including NIS2, DORA, the EU AI Act and the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act, are reshaping expectations around cybersecurity, digital governance, resilience and accountability.
Against a backdrop of geopolitical instability and growing concern around digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy, Ireland faces a pressing need to strengthen its research and policy capacity in this area, and the new Centre is designed to meet that need.
Director of the Centre and Professor in the School of Computer Science and Statistics Prof Hitesh Tewari said: “Digital security is no longer solely a technical problem. It is a societal, economic, and democratic challenge. Ireland’s prosperity is built on digital infrastructure and digital trust and our ambition for this Centre is to unite the expertise already present within Trinity and create a critical mass to provide the research capacity needed to protect Ireland’s digital future.”
The Centre incorporates research across applied cryptography, secure software and AI systems, critical infrastructure resilience, digital law and governance, economic risk modelling, societal trust, and human factors. This full spectrum approach distinguishes it within Ireland. It will support interdisciplinary research, compete for large-scale EU and national funding, strengthen collaboration with industry, and provide independent expertise to policymakers and regulators.
Deputy Director, Associate Professor Maria Grazia Porcedda from Trinity’s School of Law added: “Questions of accountability, resilience and protection of rights are central to European efforts to champion responsible digital innovation and growth. By bringing together expertise from law, technology, economics, business, and the humanities, Trinity is uniquely positioned to contribute to that conversation in a meaningful and responsible way.”
Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity College Dublin, said: “The establishment of the Centre for Digital Security and Societal Resilience reflects both the scale of the challenge and the urgency of the response required. As digital technologies become ever more embedded in our economic, social and democratic systems, the risks we face are no longer confined to technical domains but extend across every aspect of society. This Trinity Centre will play a critical role in advancing research, informing policy, and strengthening Ireland’s capacity to anticipate, manage and respond to evolving digital threats while supporting innovation and sustainable growth.”
TechCentral Reporters