CSO to use captcha in first online census in 2027 to protect against cyberattacks
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is set to spend up to €120,000 on a 'captcha' service to help prevent bots from accessing the country's first online census platform in 2027.
A captcha is a commonly used security measure on websites to distinguish between human and automated users.
It presents easy-to-solve problems such as asking users to choose all of the images on the screen that show the likes of bikes or traffic lights.
Unlike any previous census, which has been completed using handwritten forms dropped into households every five years, the next census in less than two years' time will be the first to see a citizen web portal created online.
'The 2027 census will primarily be a digital census where most householders will complete their census forms online,' the CSO said.
'The CSO will use a Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management solution to deliver a single solution in the management of the census field operation and citizen interactions giving the CSO a single data source for all interactions.
'To ensure the availability and security of the citizen web portal, the CSO requires a fast, reliable, accurate, secure and GDPR compliant captcha service.
The captcha service will be integrated into the citizen web portal and webforms where it will form part of the services and tools that will be used to protect the census systems from a cyberattack.
A key milestone for the next census will be a system test pilot to take place next year to ensure all the systems work as intended in 'as close to live conditions as possible'.
During the live census field operation in 2027, it is expected up to five million such checks will be required.
'The proposed solution must effectively distinguish between human users and automated attacks,' it said.
It did specify, however, that multi-click and/or slide-and-drop verification options would not be considered.
Read More
Pioneering project releases more lost Irish records spanning 700 years
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on building infrastructure: design is not a luxury
Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the architectural legacy of this State will be bemused by last week's statement from Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers that the Government will prioritise 'cost and efficiency over design standards and aesthetics' in future spending on infrastructure. The idea that Ireland's modern built environment is characterised by excessively high levels of design or an undue deference to aesthetics is a surprising one, and not borne out by the evidence. It is possible the Minister's remarks were prompted by widespread criticism of the project to build a national children's hospital, which has run wildly over budget and over schedule. Some observers have criticised the design of the building as a contributory factor in these overruns, although it is not entirely clear whether that is correct. Certainly, the new hospital has elicited both admiration for its child-centric vision and negative commentary for its scale and cost. But Ireland already has no shortage of low-quality contemporary architecture. The cities in general and Dublin in particular are littered with too many examples of banal buildings. READ MORE And it was only from the 1990s onwards that large-scale infrastructure – sports arenas, bridges and tunnels, a national motorway network – began to have a real impact on the landscape. The financial crash of 2008 put a sudden halt to any hope of continuing that progress. One casualty of the crash was the Metro connection to Dublin airport, which in various guises has been in gestation for nearly 25 years. That particular project might also have been on the Minister's mind when he made his comments. While Ireland dithered over building high-volume public transport infrastructure, other European countries forged ahead rapidly and cost-efficiently. One frequently cited example is Madrid's extensive, no-frills metro network, delivered in just a few years at a fraction of the cost per kilometre now estimated for Dublin's line. Ireland should certainly learn from such examples, while tendencies towards grandiosity at the planning stage will have to be kept in check if the State is to have any prospect of narrowing the infrastructure gap that currently exists between Ireland and other wealthy European countries. But to conflate cost control with the abandonment of good design is to miss the point entirely. When the new children's hospital finally opens its doors, it will not be the budget rows or delays that endure, but the experience of the space itself. Design is not an ornamental afterthought; it shapes how we use, feel, and function within our public spaces. A well-designed building earns its keep over decades in health, dignity and civic pride. If the State is serious about building for the future, it must recognise that fact.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Microsoft faces lawsuit over allegations of unlawful data processing for advertising
Microsoft Ireland Operations is being sued in the first ever High Court representative action under new legislation over its alleged unlawful processing of personal data which generates billions in advertising revenue. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has brought the action claiming Microsoft operates an advertising business, through its Xandr platform, which allows it to sell advertising slots to individual advertisers in a real-time bidding system for a fee. It is claimed that Microsoft's "search and news advertising" business generated some $10.2bn (€8.6bn) in the nine months ending March 2025. The ICCL is seeking declarations and orders against Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd directing it to cease such data processing and/or adjust its processing to comply with GDPR and Irish law. In May, the ICCL obtained High Court approval deeming its action admissible as a representative action under the 2023 Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act. This is the first such case to be brought under that act. Fast-track list On Monday, the case was admitted to the fast track Commercial Court list on the application of James Doherty SC for the ICCL. Declan McGrath, counsel for Microsoft, said he did not object to the entry of the matter into the list, but he wanted time to write to the ICCL to set out why it is Xandr that should be the defendant and not Microsoft. Mr McGrath also said his side had separately written to the ICCL about its sources of funding for the proceedings, and that is expected to be provided within a week. Microsoft may have to bring an application in relation to that, he said. Ms Justice Eileen Roberts said it was a rather unusual case, but one that not only has a commercial aspect but will benefit enormously from the case management jurisdiction of the Commercial Court. She adjourned it for three weeks, but did not make directions on how it is to proceed to allow the parties to exchange correspondence in relation to funding and the correct defendant. In an affidavit seeking entry of the case to the commercial list, Johnny Ryan — a senior fellow with the ICCL and director of its privacy and data protection programme Enforce — said the $10.2bn from Microsoft's search and news advertising business was contained in the company's "10-Q" submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He said further publicly available documents provided by the defendant, which Microsoft claims sufficiently sets out the lawfulness of its processing activities, failed to satisfy the ICCL's concerns. Mr Ryan said the claim that Microsoft is not the correct defendant is an attempt to delay the prosecution of the proceedings and also delay the vindication of the rights of Irish consumers. If another party is to be added or substituted as a defendant, Mr Ryan believes this can be done during the currency of the proceedings.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Microsoft sued in landmark Irish case over alleged unlawful processing of personal data
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has brought the action claiming Microsoft operates an advertising business, through its Xandr platform, which allows it to sell advertising slots to individual advertisers in a real-time bidding system for a fee. It is claimed that Microsoft's "search and news advertising" business generated some $10.2bn (€8.7bn) in the nine months ending March 2025. The ICCL is seeking declarations and orders against Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd directing it to cease such data processing and/or adjust its processing to comply with GDPR and Irish law. In May, the ICCL obtained High Court approval deeming its action admissible as a representative action under the 2023 Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act. This is the first such case to be brought under that Act. On Monday, the case was admitted to the fast track Commercial Court list on the application of James Doherty SC, for the ICCL. Declan McGrath SC, for Microsoft, said he did not object to the entry of the matter into the list but he wanted time to write to the ICCL to set out why it is Xandr that should be the defendant and not Microsoft. Mr McGrath also said his side had separately written to the ICCL about its sources of funding for the proceedings and that is expected to be provided within a week. Microsoft may have to bring an application in relation to that, he said. Ms Justice Eileen Roberts said it was a rather unusual case but one that not only has a commercial aspect but will benefit enormously from the case management jurisdiction of the Commercial Court. She adjourned it for three weeks but did not make directions on how it is to proceed to allow the parties exchange correspondence in relation to funding and the correct defendant. In an affidavit seeking entry of the case to the commercial list, Johnny Ryan, senior fellow with the ICCL and director of its privacy and data protection programme, Enforce, said the $10.2bn from Microsoft's search and news advertising business was contained in the company's '10-Q' submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He said further publicly available documents provided by the defendant, which Microsoft claims sufficiently sets out the lawfulness of its processing activities, failed to satisfy the ICCL's concerns. Mr Ryan said the claim that Microsoft is not the correct defendant is an attempt to delay the prosecution of the proceedings and also delay the vindication of the rights of Irish consumers. If another party is to be added or substituted as a defendant, Mr Ryan believes this can be done during the currency of the proceedings.
