Russian Government Hackers Attempt to Bring Down Poland’s Energy Grid
A recent failed cyberattack on Poland’s energy grid in December was attributed to Russian government hackers, according to a security research firm that investigated the incident. The attack targeted two heat and power plants as well as communication links between renewable energy installations and power distribution operators.
Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka described the cyberattack as the “strongest attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure in years, with the government blaming Moscow for the attempt. Local reports suggested that the attack could have affected heat and power supply for at least half a million homes across Poland.
Cybersecurity firm ESET revealed that the malware used in the attack, named DynoWiper, is a type of “wiper” malware designed to irreversibly destroy data on computers, rendering them inoperable. ESET linked the malware to the hacking group Sandworm, a unit within Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU, based on similarities with previous attacks targeting Ukraine’s energy sector.
Journalist Kim Zetter was the first to report on the cyberattack, noting that it occurred a decade after Sandworm’s initial attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in 2015, which caused widespread power outages in Kyiv. Similar attacks on Ukraine’s energy systems followed in subsequent years.
Despite the attempted hack, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk reassured the public that the country’s cybersecurity defenses successfully thwarted the attack, ensuring that critical infrastructure remained secure throughout the incident.
