According to Polish media, Polish security services uncovered a group of Russian and Belarusian cyber saboteurs who aimed to destabilize government institutions and the country’s infrastructure. The group attempted to hack into the systems of state and local government bodies.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski stated that “the group operated with a clear purpose and had specific tasks to undermine Polish infrastructure. Their goal was to steal data for blackmail and carry out cyberattacks, which could have led to political, military, and economic paralysis in the country.”
According to Polish special services, more than 400,000 cyberattacks were recorded in the first half of 2024, which is significantly more than in the previous year, when 370,000 incidents were recorded. Gawkowski also noted that “investigative operations are ongoing, but the perpetrators’ objective of penetrating systems, stealing data, and blackmailing has been thwarted.”
For a long time, Poland has been one of the main targets of the hybrid warfare conducted by Russia and Belarus. Cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and attempts to infiltrate the country with agents have become regular occurrences. According to the Polish government, sabotage operations by Russia and Belarus are aimed at destabilizing the political situation, undermining trust in state institutions, and creating chaos among the public.
To strengthen Poland’s counterintelligence infrastructure, Prime Minister Donald Tusk made a decision to reopen 10 regional offices of the Internal Security Agency (ABW), which were closed in 2017. The closure of these offices significantly reduced ABW’s effectiveness, particularly in the eastern regions near the Belarusian border. Reopening these offices is a crucial step in enhancing the country’s intelligence capabilities in response to increasing threats from Russia and Belarus.
At the opening of one of the key offices in Rzeszów, Prime Minister Tusk and Minister of the Interior Tomasz Siemoniak emphasized the importance of the agency’s local presence for more effective operations.
Siemoniak stated, “Poland, like other Western countries, is facing threats of disinformation and sabotage from Russia and Belarus. To counter these threats, it is necessary to build strong and reliable intelligence services.” Additionally, the government allocated approximately 26 million USD to strengthen the Internal Security Agency and the Intelligence Directorate.
According to government sources, Polish intelligence services have significantly increased funding and expanded cooperation with NATO to improve coordination and information sharing. The reopening of ABW regional offices will bolster Poland’s response to the growing Russian-Belarusian threats in border areas.
