Poland says prevented cyberattack on water system in 'large city'

WARSAW: Poland foiled a cyberattack against the water and sewage system of a 'large city', Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Thursday, adding that a cyber war with Russia was 'ongoing'.
'At the last minute, we managed to ensure that when the attack began, our (security) services found out about it and we shut everything down. We managed to mitigate it,' Gawkowski told web portal Onet.pl, speaking of the attack which took place on Wednesday.
'Yesterday, it was possible to end up in a situation in which one of the larger cities would have been left without water,' he added, refusing to name the city in question in order not to 'stir up people's emotions'.
Gawkowski, who is also the minister of digital affairs, did not indicate who might be the perpetrators of the attack but in a post on X, he referred to Russian hostility.
'No Russian planes will fly into Warsaw nor will tanks roll in -- instead, their digital counterparts will appear,' he wrote.
'The first stage of such an attack may involve attempts to cut us off from water, gas and electricity, paralyse communications or halt logistics,' he added.
According to Gawkowski, Poland, which invests heavily in cybersecurity, currently foils 99 per cent of cyberattacks.
On Wednesday, the Polish national prosecutor's office announced that it had charged three Poles and three Belarusians suspected of sabotage on behalf of 'foreign intelligence services'.
A Ukrainian citizen accused of acts of sabotage, 'recruited by foreign services', was also arrested that day, according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Last month, Tusk told reporters that Poland had so far detained 32 people suspected of 'cooperating with Russian intelligence services'. - AFP