Key Highlights :
1. The police in Northern Ireland have raised the terrorist threat level to "severe" after the shooting of a police officer and other attempted murders.
2. MI5 has raised the terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland to "severe" after the shooting of a police officer and other attempted murders.
3. The coming days, however, will give the dissident militia an opportunity to attempt an operation, with international attention on Northern Ireland guaranteeing widespread publicity.
4. Attacks carried out by dissident Republicans have received little coverage outside Northern Ireland. Many that were planned have been foiled by the police and security services, but some have been successful.
5. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot in Omagh in February. Masked gunmen attacked him as he finished a football training session he ran for children in the town in County Tyrone. He remains seriously ill.
6. Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with his attempted murder.
7. The New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack on DCI Caldwell, as well as an attempt to kill two police officers with a bomb in Strabane last November.
8. Liam Kelly, the chair of the Northern Ireland Police Federation, wonders why the threat level was even reduced. "Frankly, no one should be surprised by this latest MI5 intelligence assessment, which acknowledges the extent of the challenge," he commented.
Northern Ireland is set to be the focus of attention on 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement this year, with all eyes likely to fall on the region as a potential sign of progress in the ongoing peace process. However, the recent alert from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has raised concerns that the peace process could be jeopardised by a cyber attack.
The NCSC's alert, published on 9th March, warns that the peace process in Northern Ireland could be jeopardised by a cyber attack. The alert states that the peace process is "at risk from a number of sources, including cyber attacks and disinformation". The NCSC warns that a cyber attack could "damage public confidence in the peace process and undermine public support for it".
The NCSC's alert comes as all eyes will fall on Northern Ireland for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The agreement, signed on 10th April 1998, ended three decades of violence and led to the creation of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. The NCSC's alert is likely to cause concern among the political parties in Northern Ireland, who will be keen to show that the peace process is still alive and well.
