Staff in the Oireachtas have been advised not to have private work conversations in person or on the phone near virtual assistants.

These include the popular Alexa and Google Home devices.

The Business Post reported that the government fears these devices will record sensitive discussions and send them to their company.

Government staff were informed via a memo sent out last year.

Nation states

David McNamara, CEO of Cyber Security firm CommSec, told Newstalk that malicious nation state hackers often try to breach these systems to get information.

"It could be anything. So if it's a government trade deal for example, they might be looking at that. If it's a political situation with sensitive details, absolutely."

"It's down to motivation, so it won't be your average script jockey in a basement, but it might be a nation state, be it North Korea or China or the US."

He says ransomware is unlikely to be the main focus of these hackers, but it could enable other breaches.

"Ransomware is completely different. It's where a phishing email might be sent in."

"But it could consequently be used for a ransomware attack."

"They have the name and details, they have an email address, and they can target a phishing email into that person."

Main image shows an Alexa device on wooden table in living room. Image: seewhatmitchsee/Alamy