Poland repelled cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, Russia is blamed

Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitization, Krzysztof Gawkowski, announced the repulsion of several coordinated attacks on critical infrastructure on Sunday and overnight. According to the Polish minister, Poland is no longer in a cold war but in a “warm” cyberwar with Russia.

Gawkowski stressed that Poland is dealing with massive cyberattacks, RadioPik reported. According to the Minister of Digitization, such attacks that have the character of critical incidents take place every day, but there are also very many of them “in other fields.”

“Poland today is no longer in a cold, but in some elements in a warm cyberwar with Russia. The actions of both ABW and NASK clearly demonstrate this. The security committee determined the next steps of the services’ work in this area, but they remain classified,” he stated.

The deputy prime minister said that the government and the Interior Ministry will focus their combined efforts on new investments in cyber security. He emphasized that the Polish government is seeking to allocate more than $750 million for the so-called cyber shield. 

“We want to allocate more than 3 billion zlotys for the cyber-security shield, which will guarantee Poland’s and Poles’ security. The cybertary will conduct regular security reviews and enhance resilience at the critical infrastructure level,” Gawkowski stated.

The minister went on to say that various types of programs will also receive investments, “to support those institutions that today, also from the perspective of the number of people employed, should know that a person is sometimes the strong but also the weakest link in this cyber chain.”

According to Gawkowski, this cyber shield should protect his country and Poles in cyberspace.

“It will be a cyber shield that will conduct regular security checks and create resilience at the level of critical infrastructure,” Gawkowski said.

On May 8, Krzysztof Gawkowski said that Russia was attacking Poland in cyberspace to obtain data on military support for Ukraine.