Published on: September 12, 2024
Polish government agencies are accusing Russia and Belarus of waging an intensive cybersecurity war against them.
The accused countries have been targeting Ukraine with nonstop barrages of cybersecurity attacks on not only sensitive infrastructure but also individual citizens for several years. The same Russian special services that assaulted Ukraine are reportedly launching the same fierce attacks against Poland.
After months of devastating cybersecurity attacks against Polish industries, government agencies, and thousands of citizens, Poland was forced into giving a press release. Initially, they stated that their national cybersecurity defenses were under attack. That was before they had enough evidence to blame Russia and Belarus.
Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski and Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak came forward to give statements about the attacks.
“It began with POLADA (Polish Anti-Doping Agency), which (…) the services were trying to use as an entry point to other Polish institutions in local government, state companies that were connected to national security,” Gawkowski explains. This would mean the campaign started as early as May, when this incident took place.
The attacks in August were meant to destabilize Poland’s military, key infrastructure, and important government operations. Gawkowski goes on to explain that the attacks in Poland were ultimately foiled by various Polish security agencies that worked together to find the root of the attacks and thwart Russia’s plans.
Several organizations are continuing to look into these assaults, while Poland’s government is racing to create new laws that would let them fight back against online misinformation.
Currently, Gawkowksi’s ministry is working on a secure communications channel between all Polish services and authorities. They’re also attempting to pass a law that would give Poland’s government the ability to remove terrorist content on the internet.
Despite Poland’s victory in stopping the most recent incident, they’re bracing themselves for future attacks and believe that Russia and Belarus will continue to ramp up attacks against them.