Warsaw, Poland – Polish security officials said on Monday they had foiled a cyberattack and online extortion attempt by groups acting on behalf of Russian and Belarusian service agencies.
Poland is reporting up to 1,000 cyberattacks a day on government agencies and institutions linked to its support in neighboring Ukraine’s two-and-a-half-year anti-Russian war, officials said.
Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the dismantled groups tried to gain access to information on the state and individual companies with the aim of blackmailing them.
He said that in the first half of 2024, more than 400,000 attempted or successful cyber attacks were recorded, compared with 370,000 in the whole of last year.
Jawolkowski said the government plans to introduce new regulations to strengthen Poland’s cybersecurity. The government wants internet operators to store data on Polish servers rather than abroad to ensure better internal protection and oversight by national authorities.
