As the year comes to a close, many Irish businesses take time to reflect on performance, growth plans, and prepare for the months ahead. But alongside budgets and strategy, there’s one issue that has dominated boardroom conversations more than ever this year: cybersecurity.
Recent research across Ireland shows just how widespread the problem has become. Almost 90% of Irish companies have experienced disruption or financial loss as a result of cyberattacks, underlining that this is no longer an isolated risk or a concern for a small minority of businesses. The need for stronger, more proactive approaches to security and resilience is greater than ever.
A Year Defined by Growing Cyber Risks
This year reinforced a reality many businesses were slow to accept: cybercriminals don’t just target large enterprises. In fact, small and medium-sized businesses are often seen as easier targets, with fewer resources and less sophisticated defences.
Phishing emails remained one of the most common entry points, exploiting busy staff and increasingly convincing messages. Ransomware attacks continued to make headlines, locking organisations out of critical systems and demanding payment to restore access. At the same time, the increased reliance on hybrid working and cloud services expanded the attack surface, creating new vulnerabilities in networks that were never designed for this level of exposure.
For many Irish businesses, the outcome was operational disruption, reduced productivity, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational damage, impacts that linger long after the technical issue is resolved.
The Real Impact: Trust and Reputation
One of the most important lessons from this year is that the impact of cyberattacks isn’t limited to IT systems. Customer trust has become one of the biggest casualties of data breaches and service outages. Research from Digital Business Ireland has shown that almost two-thirds of consumers would be unlikely to purchase from a business that had previously suffered a data breach.
For SMEs in particular, that loss of confidence can take months or even years to recover from.
Cybersecurity, therefore, is no longer just about protection. It’s about safeguarding your reputation, your customer relationships, and your long-term viability.
Why Traditional Approaches Fell Short
Many of the issues businesses faced this year stemmed from fragmented setups. Standard broadband connections, combined with bolt-on firewalls or ad-hoc security tools, left gaps that attackers quickly exploited. Limited visibility meant threats often went unnoticed until real damage had already been done.
For many smaller teams, too many tools and alerts made security harder to manage, not easier. The focus shifted to fixing problems after they occurred rather than stopping them in the first place.
Starting the New Year with a Smarter Security Strategy
As businesses look ahead to the new year, the focus is shifting from reacting to cyber threats to proactively preventing them. That starts with recognising that connectivity and security should not be treated as separate conversations.
This is where Managed Connectivity makes a difference.
With ConnectSafe from IP Telecom, security is built directly into your internet connection. Instead of relying on standard broadband and layering on additional tools, ConnectSafe combines business-grade connectivity with enterprise-level security, continuous monitoring, and expert management, all delivered as a single, predictable service.
Why Managed Connectivity Sets Businesses Up for Success
A managed approach transforms how businesses think about cybersecurity:
Security becomes proactive, not reactive, with threats detected and blocked before they escalate.
Monitoring runs 24/7, even when your team is offline over weekends or holidays.
Compliance becomes easier, with reporting and audit support built in.
Costs are predictable, avoiding surprise expenses from downtime or emergency fixes.
When paired with IP Telecom’s Business Broadband or Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), businesses also gain the performance and reliability they need to stay productive. DIA, in particular, provides a private, uncontended connection to the internet, delivering consistent speeds, stronger security, and greater resilience for cloud-reliant, multi-site, or regulated organisations.
Adding Managed WiFi completes the picture, giving businesses dependable wireless connectivity across offices and customer spaces, all monitored and managed by experts.