Pragmatic Security provides expert cybersecurity services to businesses across County Donegal and the north-west of Ireland. From vCISO services and NIS2 compliance to incident response and email security — senior expertise, without the Dublin price tag.
Serving Donegal businesses in hospitality, fishing, agri-food, and professional services.
Why Donegal Businesses Choose Us
- Senior practitioners on every engagement — no junior consultants
- Remote-first delivery — same expertise as Dublin, without the travel cost
- Rapid response — incident response begins within hours
- Plain English — no jargon, no unnecessary complexity
- Fixed-price proposals — you know the cost before we start
- Proven track record with Donegal businesses across multiple sectors
What Donegal Businesses Face
| Figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| €1m+ | Lost by a single Donegal business group to BEC fraud in one incident |
| 3 weeks | A Donegal fishing firm was offline after a ransomware attack with untested backups |
| 94% | Of Irish SMEs have no formal cybersecurity policy, according to NCSC Ireland |
Cybersecurity Services for Donegal Businesses
We provide the full range of cybersecurity services that Donegal SMEs need — from strategic leadership to hands-on technical work.
vCISO Services
Part-time Chief Information Security Officer for Donegal SMEs. Senior security leadership without the full-time cost — from €1,500/month.
NIS2 Compliance
Is your Donegal business in scope for NIS2? We assess, advise, and implement the controls required by the EU's Network and Information Security Directive.
Incident Response
Cyber attack in progress? We provide rapid incident response for Donegal businesses — investigation, containment, and recovery.
Email Security
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is the single biggest fraud threat to Irish businesses. We harden your email with DMARC, DKIM, and SPF — and train your team.
Cyber Risk Assessment
A structured review of your organisation's security posture — identifying your most significant risks and a prioritised plan to address them.
Security Awareness Training
Your people are your first line of defence. We deliver practical, engaging security awareness training tailored to Donegal businesses.
Donegal Scenarios
These are illustrative scenarios based on common threats facing Donegal-based organisations. They reflect the types of risks and outcomes we see across the sector.
Post-incident response for a Donegal group that lost over €1m to BEC fraud
A regional Donegal-based group lost over €1 million to a business email compromise attack in which fraudsters redirected a significant payment. We led the post-incident investigation, hardened email authentication (DMARC, DKIM, SPF), redesigned payment verification procedures, and trained staff on BEC tactics — closing the root cause and embedding new payment controls across the group.
Ransomware recovery and backup remediation for a Donegal fishing industry firm
A Donegal fishing industry firm was offline for three weeks after a ransomware attack exposed backups that had never been tested. We supported the recovery, implemented a backup strategy following the 3-2-1-1-0 rule with scheduled recovery testing, and upgraded endpoint protection — leaving a tested, validated backup capability with rehearsed recovery time objectives.
Secure guest Wi-Fi implementation for a Donegal hotel
A Donegal-based hotel needed guest Wi-Fi fully isolated from its property management system, payment terminals, and back-office systems. We designed a segmented network architecture with access controls and captive portal configuration — protecting the hotel's business systems from guest network activity, with a documented design it can present to insurers and auditors.
Is Your Donegal Business In Scope for NIS2?
The EU's NIS2 Directive came into force in Ireland in October 2024. It applies to organisations in sectors including energy, transport, healthcare, food production, digital infrastructure, and others — and it carries significant penalties for non-compliance.
Many Donegal businesses in the agri-food, fishing, and hospitality sectors are asking whether NIS2 applies to them. The answer depends on your sector and size. Our free NIS2 Scope Assessment gives you a clear answer in under five minutes. The table below is indicative only.
| Sector | Indicative status |
|---|---|
| Agri-food & Food Processing | Possibly in scope |
| Fishing & Aquaculture | Possibly in scope |
| Hospitality & Tourism | Likely out of scope |
| Healthcare & Pharmacies | Likely in scope |
| Energy & Utilities | Likely in scope |
| Professional Services | Likely out of scope |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work with businesses based in Donegal?
Yes. We work with businesses across Donegal and the wider north-west of Ireland. Our engagements are primarily delivered remotely, which means you get the same senior expertise as a Dublin-based firm — without the travel premium. Where on-site work is required, we travel.
What size of business do you typically work with in Donegal?
Most of our Donegal clients are SMEs — typically between 10 and 250 employees. We work across a wide range of sectors including hospitality, agri-food, fishing, professional services, and manufacturing. We also work with larger organisations that need specialist security expertise on a project or retained basis.
Is NIS2 relevant to Donegal businesses?
NIS2 applies to organisations in specific sectors — energy, transport, healthcare, digital infrastructure, food production, and others — that meet certain size thresholds. If your Donegal business operates in one of these sectors, you may be in scope. Use our free NIS2 Scope Assessment to find out in under five minutes.
What is a vCISO and does my Donegal business need one?
A virtual CISO (vCISO) is a part-time, outsourced Chief Information Security Officer. Most SMEs cannot justify a full-time CISO, but they still need senior security leadership — for board reporting, risk management, compliance, and incident response. A vCISO gives you that expertise at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
How quickly can you respond to a cyber incident in Donegal?
We can begin remote incident response within hours of being engaged. For most cyber incidents affecting Donegal businesses — ransomware, BEC fraud, data breaches — remote response is sufficient for the initial investigation and containment phase. Where physical access is required, we can typically be on-site within 24 hours.
What does cybersecurity typically cost for a Donegal SME?
Costs vary significantly depending on the scope of work. A one-off cyber risk assessment for a small business typically starts from €2,500. A retained vCISO engagement starts from €1,500 per month. Incident response is billed on a time-and-materials basis. We always provide a clear, fixed-price proposal before any engagement begins.