Poland’s security services have jointly identified and dismantled a ring of ‘cyber-saboteurs’ involved in data theft, blackmail, and “conducting de facto cyberwar,” the minister of digital affairs has said.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Krzysztof Gawkowski said the group’s activities targeted companies operating in the security domain.
He said the group had first targeted the Polish Anti-Doping Agency, which formed part of a wider strategy aimed at entering other state institutions at the level of local authorities and public companies working in the security field.
Gawkowski said all the institutions targeted had been informed by cybersecurity agencies.
“They are subject to operational procedures, but the operational aims set by the adversaries, i.e., gaining entry, data theft, and later blackmail, have been halted,” Poland’s state news agency, PAP, reported him as saying.
He added that the ultimate goal of the cyber-saboteurs had been paralysis of the Polish state politically, economically and militarily.
Gawkowski told journalists that in the first half of this year, more than 400,000 cyberattack-related incidents were reported in Poland, and the security services launched around 100,000 procedures aimed at identifying those that represented genuine attacks.
“This shows that year on year, the number [of incidents] has risen by 100%,” Gawkowski said, adding that “in the whole of 2023, 370,000 incidents were reported.” He said that Poland’s cybersecurity services are working hard to counter threats as soon as they are detected.
Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said that over a dozen people had been arrested since January for planning or attempting cyber-sabotage. He added that changes to the law are planned in order to tighten security in cyberspace, as some laws have been in force for decades.
He also highlighted that last week the Cabinet adopted a project aimed at countering online terrorist content.
He said the group had first targeted the Polish Anti-Doping Agency, which formed part of a wider strategy aimed at entering other state institutions at the level of local authorities and public companies working in the security field.
Gawkowski said all the institutions targeted had been informed by cybersecurity agencies.
“They are subject to operational procedures, but the operational aims set by the adversaries, i.e., gaining entry, data theft, and later blackmail, have been halted,” Poland’s state news agency, PAP, reported him as saying.
He added that the ultimate goal of the cyber-saboteurs had been paralysis of the Polish state politically, economically and militarily.
A growing trend
Gawkowski told journalists that in the first half of this year, more than 400,000 cyberattack-related incidents were reported in Poland, and the security services launched around 100,000 procedures aimed at identifying those that represented genuine attacks.
“This shows that year on year, the number [of incidents] has risen by 100%,” Gawkowski said, adding that “in the whole of 2023, 370,000 incidents were reported.” He said that Poland’s cybersecurity services are working hard to counter threats as soon as they are detected.
Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said that over a dozen people had been arrested since January for planning or attempting cyber-sabotage. He added that changes to the law are planned in order to tighten security in cyberspace, as some laws have been in force for decades.
He also highlighted that last week the Cabinet adopted a project aimed at countering online terrorist content.
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