Poland’s prime minister says cyberattack targeted his party as election nears

The online systems of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's party were hit by a cyberattack earlier this week.

Tusk did not provide details about the attack or its impact but claimed the incident was motivated by election meddling. 

“Foreign interference in elections begins. [State] services say traces point to the east,” said Tusk, the cofounder of the Civic Platform political party, in a statement on Wednesday.

Poland’s digital affairs minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, said the country’s state services are investigating the incident.

“The matter is serious, and we will keep you updated with all the details,” he added.

Speaking to local media on Thursday, Gawkowski claimed that hackers linked to Russia and Belarus were likely behind the attack.

Jan Grabiec, head of the prime minister's office, told a local news agency that the attackers attempted to take control of computers belonging to both party office employees and election staff.

According to him, the goal was either to gain access to data or generate content using the compromised computers. Polish authorities described the cyberattack as "quite dangerous."

The attack comes just a month before Poland’s presidential election in May. The frontrunner is Civic Platform candidate and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who supports closer ties with the European Union.

The country has previously warned about suspected Moscow-linked campaigns to meddle in the elections. In January, Polish officials said Russia was attempting to recruit Polish citizens via the darknet to conduct influence operations ahead of the election.

Russian intelligence agencies, including the GRU and FSB, have reportedly posted job offers on hidden parts of the internet offering payments to individuals willing to spread disinformation online.

“Never before in Poland’s history have we been in a situation where we knew that a foreign country, openly waging war, is trying to influence Polish politics and elections,” Gawkowski said at the time.

Gawkowski also claimed that Poland is currently the most targeted country in the European Union for cyberattacks, with most incidents originating from Russia.

In September, Poland’s security services announced they had dismantled an alleged cyber sabotage group linked to Russia and Belarus. The group reportedly attempted to “paralyze” the country with cyberattacks and allegedly extorted information from local government agencies and state-owned companies handling military and security matters.

In May 2023, Poland reported that Russia-linked hackers had targeted the Polish Press Agency attempting to spread fake news on its website.

Russia has previously denied accusations of cyberattacks or election interference in Poland.