Cyberattack on Polish Nuclear Research Centre Foiled

The news in Polish

1. cyberatak  (m.)
   atak przeprowadzony za pomocą komputera i Internetu na systemy informatyczne, np. na serwery lub sieć ↩︎
2. narodowy
   związany z całym państwem lub narodem, oficjalny, państwowy ↩︎
3. jądrowy
   dotyczący jądra atomu lub energii z niego; związany z energią atomową ↩︎
4. system  (m.)
   zestaw połączonych ze sobą elementów, które razem działają jak całość, np. system komputerowy, system bezpieczeństwa ↩︎
5. śledztwo  (n.)
   dokładne badanie sprawy przez policję lub prokuraturę, żeby ustalić, co się stało i kto jest winny ↩︎
6. instytucja  (f.)
   ważna organizacja, zwykle publiczna, która wykonuje określone zadania, np. urząd, szkoła, urząd skarbowy ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What happened to the cyberattack on the Polish National Centre for Nuclear Research?

Question 2: What does Minister Gawkowski say about who might be behind the attack?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
cyberatak  (m.)	cyberattack
narodowy	national
jądrowy	nuclear
system  (m.)	system
śledztwo  (n.)	investigation
instytucja  (f.)	institution

Read the full story

Poland’s National Centre for Nuclear Research (Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych, NCBJ) has reported a recent attempted cyberattack on its computer systems. According to government statements, security mechanisms worked as intended and the attack was stopped before it could seriously affect the institution’s operations.

Polish Minister for Digital Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski confirmed that there had been an effort to break through the centre’s digital defences. He explained that the incident was not large in scale, but it was a real attempt to breach security. Specialised state services are now conducting a detailed investigation.

Gawkowski stated that early technical analysis suggests that the entry points used in the attack appear to be linked to Iran. He connected these first findings with the broader tensions in the Middle East. At the same time, he warned that in cyberspace it is often possible to hide or disguise the true origin of an operation. For this reason, the minister emphasised that these indications are still being verified and could reflect camouflage techniques rather than the real source.

In comments posted on social media, the minister said that the hacker actions had been thwarted and that all internal procedures functioned correctly. He added that, at this stage, the authorities do not see any threat to the day-to-day work of the National Centre for Nuclear Research. The institution is cooperating closely with state cyber-security bodies, including NASK (the National Research Institute for cyber and network security) and the Ministry of Energy.

The NCBJ is a key element of Poland’s scientific and energy infrastructure. It conducts basic and applied research in areas such as nuclear energy and particle physics. The centre is also responsible for operating “Maria”, the only functioning nuclear research reactor in Poland, located near Warsaw. Because of this role, the facility is considered particularly sensitive and in need of strong protection against both physical and digital threats.

Polish officials placed this incident in a wider pattern of growing cyberthreats to critical infrastructure. Earlier, the same minister had reported on a major cyber operation against Poland’s energy sector, allegedly carried out by groups linked to Russia. According to his earlier statements, that attack, which targeted infrastructure such as wind farms, was aimed at creating an energy crisis or even a blackout. The attempted breach of the NCBJ is therefore seen as another example of how energy and nuclear-related institutions have become important targets in the digital domain.

Government representatives insist that Polish state services remain on high alert, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the rise in international tensions. They describe the nuclear research centre as safe and underline that the latest attack did not achieve the scale apparently intended by its organisers.

For now, the authorities are focusing on technical analysis and attribution of the incident. While initial traces point towards servers or infrastructure associated with Iran, officials repeatedly stress that they must confirm whether these signals reflect the true origin of the attackers or are the result of deliberate misdirection within global networks. Further information is expected once the relevant agencies complete their investigations.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish, where we offer various types of Polish lessons online to support learners at different levels.