Poland claims to have foiled Russian-Belarusian sabotage plot

Polish security services have successfully thwarted a sabotage operation orchestrated by Russia and Belarus, which was intended to destabilize the country, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski announced on Monday.

He noted that saboteurs, operating from Belarus in cooperation with Russia, penetrated local and central government institutions, including state-owned companies implementing military contracts, News.Az reports citing Reuters.

"The Belarusian and Russian foreign services... had a specific goal - to extort information, to blackmail individuals and institutions and to wage a de facto cyberwar," said Gawkowski, who is also minister for digital affairs.

He said the operational goal, to steal data for blackmail purposes, had been thwarted.

Gawkowski says cyberattacks have doubled since last year, targeting Polish organisations and institutions, including logistics companies that run military deliveries to Ukraine.

"In cyberspace, dangers come every hour, every minute. It often happens that there are over a thousand incidents in a day," said Gawkowski, who in June said Poland had blocked several cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure.

News.Az