Assistant Professor Maria Grazia Porcedda recipient of PhD Provost Award 2021.

The Law School warmly congratulates Assistant Professor Maria Grazia Porcedda on becoming a recipient of the PhD Provost Awards 2021. Under this competitive scheme, funding is awarded to a PI at Assistant or Associate Professor level, for research projects to be undertaken over the subsequent four years. The funding covers the fees (EU/non-EU) plus a €16,650 p/a stipend (to be raised by 4% to €17,316 from 1 October 2021) for a PhD student to work on the project and for whom the successful PI applicant will act as primary PhD supervisor.

Maria Grazia's Research:

Appraising the prevention and deterrence of cybercrime in Ireland through the law.

Ireland has been touted as the data capital of Europe, thanks to it hosting both the European headquarters and data centres of Big Tech companies. This data bonanza is inevitably attracting the attention of cybercriminals: according to reports released in 2020, Ireland is witnessing a steep increase in cybercrime, including data breaches. Retaining such data leadership requires investing in strategies, including laws and regulations, to secure both the infrastructure and the data. As legislation designed explicitly to prevent or deter cybercrime is relatively recent, there is a shortage of statistics, case law and studies that provide a picture of the evolution of cybercrime in Ireland and the adequacy of legal responses. Both scholars and policy-makers alike have suggested there is a need to fill the gap through scholarly and policy research.

This project, led by P.I. Dr Maria Grazia Porcedda, aims to fill the gap by studying the implementation of the applicable law to prevent cybercrime and deter cyber-offenders and chart the incidence of instances of cybercrime.