The security services in Poland declared that they had taken down a suspected cyber sabotage group associated with Belarus and Russia that was attempting to “paralyze” Poland via cyberattacks.
Poland’s Minister of Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski, claimed at a press conference on Monday that the group members, who were not publicly identified, had been extorting information regarding military and security matters from Polish local government organizations and state-owned businesses. The group’s tactics, which included blackmail, were referred to by him as “de facto cyberwar.”
The gang was thought to be responsible for the attack on POLADA, Poland’s anti-doping organization. Hackers “supported by the services of a hostile state” are suspected of distributing over 50,000 classified files from POLADA earlier in August, including test results and medical information about Polish athletes.
At the time of the attack, Beregini, a group that describes itself on Telegram as a “Ukrainian hacker group,” took credit for it and said it was a reaction to the Olympic Games being “turned into a political oppression instrument.”
Beregini has previously been observed working with different pro-Russian organizations to disseminate false information about Ukraine’s war planning and distribute forged documents. Russia is widely recognized for using hacktivist groups to conceal its intelligence services’ activities and complicate attribution.
The attack on POLADA, according to Gawkowski, was a part of “a broader operational game” that the disbanded gang was carrying out, with its ultimate objective being access to other Polish institutions.
Gawkowski claimed that the sabotage group’s objective was “to paralyze the country in the political, military, and economic spheres.”
All institutions impacted by these malicious actions have received notification from the security services, and the members of the organization “have been stopped” from their data extortion and blackmail.
Gawkowski claims that during the first half of the year, there were over 400,000 cyberattacks against Poland, doubling from the previous year. Pro-Russian hackers find the nation attractive since it offers military assistance to Ukraine and hosts Ukrainian refugees.
Poland’s Interior Minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said at the press conference that the government “draws conclusions from all threats and such situations.”
“The sphere of cyberspace is becoming increasingly important,” he said. “It is also becoming a tool for coordinating and organizing various activities of foreign services in Poland.”
Also read: Unveiling the Ethical Imperatives: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Cybersecurity
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