TikTok to open Dublin cybersecurity centre with 50 new jobs

Social video platform TikTok is to create 50 jobs in Dublin as it opens a European cybersecurity centre.

The new jobs will be in specialist areas including security, privacy and policy, and span functions including business operations protection and portfolio management, global trust assurance, threat and incident response, and governance, compliance and risk mitigation, among others. Recruitment has already begun, and the roles are expected to be filled quickly.

The cybersecurity centre will bring security experts together with other areas of the business, from information security and intel teams to operations groups, trust and safety, and digital crimes.

The Irish centre will be the first regional one outside the US, with the centre in Washington DC currently leading its global security effort.

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TikTok's global chief security officer Roland Cloutier said the initial 50 jobs was the starting point for the centre. "The people are definitely there, there's a strong talent pool in Ireland, and it probably has to do with the other multinationals that have built cyber capabilities, technology capabilities and services in the country," he said. "There's a strong university system, and there's this strong international talent following in Ireland that brings people from all over the world to Ireland. It's really impressive the number of resources we've been able to find."

The Dublin centre will give TikTok greater firepower in discovering threats and protecting its community, and help with global efforts to deliver next-generation cyber-threat monitoring, and assemble cyber investigations and working groups to tackle digital crime, the company said. That covers everything from denial of service attacks and identity theft to crimes involving children, financial crimes and fraud.

Online safety

The news was welcomed by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. "It's crucial that global tech companies play a central role in ensuring the safety of their users," he said. "I'm really pleased TikTok has chosen Dublin as the location for its first regional centre. This new centre will detect and respond to critical incidents as they happen, and will help improve online safety for TikTok users worldwide. This announcement underlines the company's continued commitment to our country and will allow it to continue to benefit from our rich and highly skilled talent pool."

TikTok already has a significant Irish presence. In 2020 it grew its trust and safety hub in Dublin, and last November the Chinese-owned company announced plans to add 200 new jobs over three months. It employs more than 1,100 people in the Republic.

Mr Cloutier said Ireland was a “huge commitment” for the company. “We’ll continue to build out our business operations, and our technical operations, especially with our partners in privacy defence, in our security defence. That will be a growing area for us.”

IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan said the additional jobs would "build on Ireland's expertise in the field of global trust assurance, security threat management, compliance and governance in an increasingly digitised and vigorous technology sector".