Latest news with #RonanMurphy
Irish Times
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Man to run circumference of Ireland in aid of lifeboat volunteers
'If you want to achieve big things, you gotta take risks,' says Vini Cardoso (41), who will be undertaking a 2,200km run around Ireland this August. Having moved to Ireland in 2008, the Brazilian wants to express his 'gratitude to Ireland for all these years that I've loved this country'. He will be running around the circumference of Ireland to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) . Mr Cardoso's journey, which he estimates will take two months, will be just be him and his backpack containing his tent, food and water. He is fundraising for the RNLI to pay homage to his friends who volunteer for them. He spoke of his admiration for one friend who, in some instances, has been eating dinner before getting a call to rescue someone. READ MORE 'Many times he would come back at six, seven in the morning when I was waking up for work the next day.' Another friend, Ronan Murphy, has been volunteering for the RNLI for almost 13 years. He divides his time between working as a firefighter, a paramedic and running a gym in Howth, where he met Mr Cardoso more than 10 years ago. Mr Murphy said even though Mr Cardoso is from Brazil 'he's more Irish than most people I know'. He said Mr Cardoso will be 'seen as one of our own' in the RNLI for taking on the challenge. Ronan Murphy volunteering for the RNLI Mr Cardoso will be using the RNLI lifeboat stations as 'supply stations', which he will send food and water to in advance, to be collected along his journey. Mr Cardoso, an artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu teacher, began running long distances following the death of his father a few years ago. He 'needed something different' to focus his attention on and 'started running around the fields in Howth'. [ 'Deep and rich' story of medieval high rulers and nobles determined by archaeologists in Galway Opens in new window ] 'I always knew that for me, I would never be able to run and win races, but I understand that there is something about the long distances. I like that long journey, it's a very mental thing.' Last year, he ran The Ireland Way, a 1,000km walking and cycling trail which took him from west Cork to the Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim. He said the journey led him to notice 'how welcoming people were' in many parts of the country. 'Some people invited me to come into their house, offered me a place to stay, a nice comfortable bed, shower, dinner. For me, that was something beautiful to experience.' Since moving to Ireland, a country he says he fell in love with, Mr Cardoso has been teaching himself Irish. He has 'learned a few words and sentences here and there', and in the past year has been 'going deeper, learning the structure of the language'. He hopes to put it to use on his upcoming run. 'If I pass through the Gaeltacht in Connemara, Galway, I would try to immerse myself into the culture, at least learn a little bit. Maybe order some báinne [milk] or uisce [water].' Vini Cardoso trains for his 2,200km coastal circumnavigation run around Ireland, fundraising for the RNLI. Photograph: Alan Betson The mental preparation he has undertaken for the journey has been considerable. He says it is 'about understanding where my mind is gonna go, how my feelings or my mind is gonna react when I find myself sitting in a tent with nobody to talk to'. He says the journey will force him to 'be present in the moment and appreciate the solitude'. 'Being alone is a very powerful thing'. However, Mr Cardoso is used to being alone in such a way, spending many Fridays after work camping in the Wicklow mountains on 'a little night out'. To physically prepare, he runs between 15 and 20km a day, going further on weekends. He wears a heavy backpack to ready himself for what he'll be carrying during the journey, which he says will be between 14 and 18kg of supplies. He also does strength training with a friend who is a coach, and mobility training to stay flexible. He will 'go with the flow', and if there's a day where he can't keep going, he will allow himself to rest, he says. [ Dog is euthanised after attacking owner in Cork incident Opens in new window ] His family in Brazil are 'big supporters' of his plan. His mother is encouraging, but remains cautious and worries about his safety. 'This is life, we gotta take risks,' he said. His friend Mr Murphy will be checking in with Mr Cardoso every day through texts and calls. Mr Cardoso will be posting daily video content of his progress on his Instagram, @vini_on_earth.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Chatbots could be helping hackers to steal data from people and companies
Generative artificial intelligence is the revolutionary new technology that is transforming the world of work. It can summarize and stores reams of data and documents in seconds, saving workers valuable time and effort, and companies lots of money, but as the old saying goes, you don't get something for nothing. As the uncontrolled and unapproved use of unvetted AI tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot soars, so too does the risk that company secrets or sensitive personal information such as salaries or health records are being unwittingly leaked. Time saver: But there are increasing concerns that using tools such as ChatGPT in a business setting could leave sensitive information exposed This hidden and largely unreported risk of serious data breaches stems from the default ability of AI models to record and archive chat history, which is used to help train the AI to better respond to questions in the future. As these conversations become part of the AI's knowledge base, retrieval or deletion of data becomes almost impossible. 'It's like putting flour into bread,' said Ronan Murphy, a tech entrepreneur and AI adviser to the Irish government. 'Once you've done it, it's very hard to take it out.' This 'machine learning' means that highly sensitive information absorbed by AI could resurface later if prompted by someone with malicious intent. Experts warn that this silent and emerging threat from so-called 'shadow AI' is as dangerous as the one already posed by scammers, where hackers trick company insiders into giving away computer passwords and other codes. But cyber criminals are also using confidential data voraciously devoured by chatbots like ChatGPT to hack into vulnerable IT systems. 'If you know how to prompt it, the AI will spill the beans,' Murphy said. The scale of the problem is alarming. A recent survey found that nearly one in seven of all data security incidents is linked to generative AI. Another found that almost a quarter of 8,000 firms surveyed worldwide gave their staff unrestricted access to publicly available AI tools. That puts confidential data such as meeting notes, disciplinary reports or financial records 'at serious risk' that 'could lead employees to inadvertently propagate threats', a report from technology giant Cisco said. 'It's like the invention of the internet – it's just arrived and it's the future – but we don't understand what we are giving to these systems and what's happening behind the scenes at the back end,' said Cisco cyber threat expert Martin Lee. One of the most high-profile cybersecurity 'own-goals' in recent years was scored by South Korean group Samsung. The consumer electronics giant banned employees from using popular chatbots like ChatGPT after discovering in 2023 that one of its engineers had accidentally pasted secret code and meeting notes onto an AI platform. Banks have also cracked down on the use of ChatGPT by staff amid concerns about the regulatory risks they face from sharing sensitive financial information. But as organisations put guardrails in place to keep their data secure, they also don't want to miss out on what may be a once-in-a-generation chance to steal a march on their rivals. 'We're seeing companies race ahead with AI implementation as a means of improving productivity and staying one step ahead of competitors,' said Ruben Miessen, co-founder of compliance software group Legalfly, whose clients include banks, insurers and asset managers. 'However, a real risk is that the lack of oversight and any internal framework is leaving client data and sensitive personal information potentially exposed,' he added. The answer though, isn't to limit AI usage. 'It's about enabling it responsibly,' Miessen said. Murphy added: 'You either say no to everything or figure out a plan to do it safely. 'Protecting sensitive data is not sexy, it's boring and time-consuming.' But unless adequate controls are put in place, 'you make a hacker's job extremely easy'.
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Are chatbots stealing your personal data?
It's the revolutionary new technology that is transforming the world of work. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) creates, summarises and stores reams of data and documents in seconds, saving workers valuable time and effort, and companies lots of money. But as the old saying goes, you don't get something for nothing. As the uncontrolled and unapproved use of unvetted AI tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot soars, so too does the risk that company secrets or sensitive personal information such as salaries or health records are being unwittingly leaked. This hidden and largely unreported risk of serious data breaches stems from the default ability of AI models to record and archive chat history, which is used to help train the AI to better respond to questions in the future. As these conversations become part of the AI's knowledge base, retrieval or deletion of data becomes almost impossible. 'It's like putting flour into bread,' said Ronan Murphy, a tech entrepreneur and AI adviser to the Irish government. 'Once you've done it, it's very hard to take it out.' This 'machine learning' means that highly sensitive information absorbed by AI could resurface later if prompted by someone with malicious intent. Experts warn that this silent and emerging threat from so-called 'shadow AI' is as dangerous as the one already posed by scammers like those who recently targeted Marks & Spencer, costing the retailer £300 million. M&S fell victim to a 'ransomware' attack, where hackers tricked company insiders into giving away computer passwords and other codes. Its chairman, Archie Norman, told MPs last week that the hack was caused by 'sophisticated impersonation' of one of its third-party users. Four people have been arrested by police investigating the cyber attacks on M&S and fellow retailers Co-op and Harrods. But cyber criminals are also using confidential data voraciously devoured by chatbots like ChatGPT to hack into vulnerable IT systems. 'If you know how to prompt it, the AI will spill the beans,' Murphy said. The scale of the problem is alarming. A recent survey found that nearly one in seven of all data security incidents is linked to generative AI. Another found that almost a quarter of 8,000 firms surveyed worldwide gave their staff unrestricted access to publicly available AI tools. That puts confidential data such as meeting notes, disciplinary reports or financial records 'at serious risk' that 'could lead employees to inadvertently propagate threats', a report from technology giant Cisco said. 'It's like the invention of the internet – it's just arrived and it's the future – but we don't understand what we are giving to these systems and what's happening behind the scenes at the back end,' said Cisco cyber threat expert Martin Lee. One of the most high-profile cybersecurity 'own-goals' in recent years was scored by South Korean group Samsung. The consumer electronics giant banned employees from using popular chatbots like ChatGPT after discovering in 2023 that one of its engineers had accidentally pasted secret code and meeting notes onto an AI platform. Banks have also cracked down on the use of ChatGPT by staff amid concerns about the regulatory risks they face from sharing sensitive financial information. But as organisations put guardrails in place to keep their data secure, they also don't want to miss out on what may be a once-in-a-generation chance to steal a march on their rivals. 'We're seeing companies race ahead with AI implementation as a means of improving productivity and staying one step ahead of competitors,' said Ruben Miessen, co-founder of compliance software group Legalfly, whose clients include banks, insurers and asset managers. 'However, a real risk is that the lack of oversight and any internal framework is leaving client data and sensitive personal information potentially exposed,' he added. The answer though, isn't to limit AI usage. 'It's about enabling it responsibly,' Miessen said. Murphy added: 'You either say no to everything or figure out a plan to do it safely. 'Protecting sensitive data is not sexy, it's boring and time-consuming.' But unless adequate controls are put in place, 'you make a hacker's job extremely easy'.
RTÉ News
21-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Greencoat Renewables gets approval for Johannesburg listing
Wind and solar energy group Greencoat Renewables confirmed today that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has granted approval to the company for a secondary listing on the Alternative Exchange of the JSE. The listing and commencement of trading will take effect on Monday, June 9. The company said admission to the JSE is expected to be beneficial to the company over time as it will enhance liquidity, diversify the shareholder base and position Greencoat for growth by providing access to a new and deep capital market. It added that it remain listed on the Euronext Growth Market in Dublin and the Alternative Investment Market in London. "Greencoat Renewables' return profile offers an attractive proposition to South African investors who we look forward to welcoming onto our share register. Our listing on the JSE further demonstrates our innovative and proactive approach to improving liquidity," Ronan Murphy, Greencoat's non-executive chairman said.
RTÉ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Greencoat Renewables to sell 6 Irish windfarms for €156m
Wind and solar energy group Greencoat Renewables has agreed a deal to sell a portfolio of six Irish onshore wind assets for a total of €156m to Norwegian private equity firm HitecVision. The wind farms have a total of 115.7MW in net capacity. The disposed portfolio comprises 100% of five assets (65.7MW) and a 50% stake in one of the larger assets in its portfolio. The company said today's sale aligns with its active portfolio management strategy that aims to maintain prudent gearing and a high level of contracted revenues through a combination of asset sales, the creation of new PPAs, and reinvestment in due course. Today's deal also builds on the disposal of the Kokkoneva wind farm in Finland announced last November 2024. Greencoat has now raised more than €200m from asset sales across six assets in the past six months. "The combination of these disposals increases our capital allocation options for the future," it stated. Greencoat said it continues to explore value further disposals and is in advanced talks over the sale of a significant minority stake in its 50MW Andella wind farm in Spain. Paul O'Donnell, Partner, Schroders Greencoat LLP, said the deal reflects the disciplined execution of the company's capital allocation strategy, unlocking value from its portfolio and further enhancing its financial strength. "We continue to see significant opportunities in the growing European renewable market for Greencoat Renewables to create value for its shareholders," he said. "As well as providing future balance sheet flexibility, this latest transaction underpins the opportunity to create increasing value from older assets including re-contracting PPAs and options for hybridisation and repowering," he added. Greencoat Renewables also said today that it is in the process of applying for a secondary listing on the Alternative Exchange of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company said it had received strong interest in the listing from a number of South African institutional investors, who are attracted to the company's scale, strong track record, high cash generation and progressive approach to distributions. It said it believes that admission to the JSE will be beneficial to the company and its stakeholders as it will enhance liquidity for shareholders, diversify its shareholder base and position the company for growth, by providing access to a new and deep capital market. Ronan Murphy, Non-Executive Chairman of Greencoat Renewables, said the company has been encouraged by the response of highly reputable South African institutional investors, and expect to increase liquidity, broaden the company's shareholder base and position it for future growth in due course. "Through the continued generation of high and secure cashflows, we consider the company well placed to provide local investors with attractive eurodenominated returns going forward," he added.
