In Poland, access to electronic public services was restricted due to a cyberattack
In Poland, after a cyberattack was detected, the state platform for electronic services ePUAP, through which citizens and entrepreneurs can submit documents and requests to public institutions, was temporarily disconnected. Restoration of the full operation of the system is ongoing.
This is reported by Money.pl with reference to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) and the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland.
On the evening of November 10, Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski announced that Polish cybersecurity services had detected and stopped an attack on the state information system.
According to him, specialists responsible for security promptly took measures to maintain infrastructure stability. At the same time, technical work began, necessary to restore all functions of the platform.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs stressed that ePUAP was disconnected preventively, not as a result of direct damage to the system by hackers.
"This does not mean that as a result of the attack the system was damaged or its operation was disrupted. We simply disconnected it preventively for security reasons, to make sure that further functioning will be fully secure", - explained the director of the communication bureau of the ministry, Marek Georgica.
According to him, it is currently difficult to name the exact time of full restoration of the service. As of the morning of November 11, no official deadline for the completion of technical work was announced.
Krzysztof Gawkowski also assured that the infrastructure of the Central Informatics Center of Poland remains protected. The Internal Security Agency of Poland (ABW) was involved to clarify the circumstances of the incident.
No information about those involved in the cyberattack is yet available. Polish authorities also did not report any confirmed leak of users' personal data.
The temporary disconnection of ePUAP may also create inconvenience for Ukrainians living or doing business in Poland.
The ePUAP platform (Elektroniczna Platforma Usług Administracji Publicznej) is used for electronic correspondence with public institutions, sending applications, requests, and other documents. The service also supports signing electronic submissions using the trusted profile Profil Zaufany.
Due to restricted access to the platform, users may temporarily face difficulties when submitting electronic documents through ePUAP. At the same time, the report of a cyberattack does not mean an automatic shutdown of all other Polish public electronic services.
Those planning an urgent appeal to Polish public institutions should check the availability of ePUAP and possible alternative ways of submitting documents directly on the websites of the relevant offices.
Based on materials: Money.pl / PAP, Polskie Radio 24
