According to Silicon Republic, cybersecurity giant Proofpoint is launching an AI innovation centre at its Cork international hub, creating 45 specialist roles including data scientists and large language model experts. The US-headquartered company plans for up to 100 additional roles over the coming years and is expanding its office space in the city. Proofpoint will also bring security operations and data security teams to Cork as part of this expansion. The Irish Government is supporting the move through IDA Ireland, with Minister Peter Burke calling it a reflection of Ireland’s success in attracting world-class companies. This follows Proofpoint’s opening of its Cork hub just a year ago, when it announced plans for 250 jobs within two years.
The AI cybersecurity arms race heats up
Here’s the thing – every cybersecurity company is rushing to integrate AI into their platforms, but Proofpoint’s approach is interesting. They’re creating what they call a “privacy-attested” environment for training their models. Basically, they need massive datasets to train effective AI, but they can’t exactly use customer data without serious privacy concerns. So they’re building a system that keeps everything anonymous while still allowing the AI to learn from real-world threats.
And let’s be honest – the timing makes perfect sense. As Proofpoint CFO Remi Thomas noted, today’s cyberattacks are getting ridiculously sophisticated. We’re not talking about simple phishing emails anymore. Attackers are using AI to create more convincing scams, automate vulnerability discovery, and even generate malicious code. So defenders need AI just to keep up. But here’s the real question: can any company actually stay ahead when both sides are using the same powerful technology?
Ireland’s quiet tech hub strategy
Look, Ireland has been playing this game brilliantly for years. They’re not just attracting any tech companies – they’re specifically going after the security and AI operations of major US firms. Proofpoint joins a growing list of cybersecurity companies with significant Irish operations. The country has become Europe’s de facto tech gateway, offering both talent and favorable business conditions.
What’s smart about this particular expansion is the focus on specialized roles. We’re not talking about generic customer support positions here. Data scientists, LLM experts, security operations – these are high-value jobs that create ecosystem effects. When you cluster this kind of talent in one location, you get knowledge spillovers that benefit the entire region. It’s a virtuous cycle that Ireland has mastered.
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The data dilemma in AI security
Proofpoint’s mention of acquiring “larger data sets” reveals the fundamental challenge in security AI. You need massive amounts of attack data to train effective models, but security data is incredibly sensitive. Companies are understandably nervous about sharing their breach attempts and security incidents. So creating that privacy-attested environment isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s absolutely essential for getting the training data they need.
I think we’re going to see more of this approach across the industry. The companies that can build trust around data handling while still accessing enough information to train powerful AI will have a significant advantage. It’s a delicate balance between utility and privacy, and frankly, most companies are still figuring it out.
