Poland faces more than 600,000 cyberattacks every year, and according to the government, their scale and complexity are increasing month by month. Strengthening the country’s digital resilience has therefore become one of the top priorities. This is the purpose of the planned amendment to the National Cybersecurity System (KSC) Act.
“Work on this bill lasted seven years — two PiS governments couldn’t get it done in five. We completed it in less than two,” emphasizes Krzysztof Gawkowski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs.
The new regulations aim to improve coordination between security agencies, shorten response times to incidents, and ensure the continuity of key services — from energy and water to transport, healthcare and public administration. Combined with enhanced international cooperation, such as the memorandum signed with the United States, Poland is becoming a European leader in digital security. As Deputy Prime Minister Gawkowski noted in a recent interview with government spokesperson Adam Szłapka, Poland not only benefits from U.S. intelligence but also actively shares knowledge, information, access and experience.
“Cybersecurity is now one of the key pillars of state resilience. It must be strengthened and expanded. The national cybersecurity system is intended to improve coordination between services and allow faster reaction times. The goal is to make sure that our essential services — water, sewage systems, electricity — are not taken away from us, that we can respond effectively to threats, and above all, that we can counter the hundreds of thousands of incidents reported each year,” Gawkowski told Newseria.
A New, Stronger Cybersecurity Law
The new KSC Act, whose draft was approved by the government on October 21 this year, is intended to streamline cooperation between public administration, operators of essential services and digital service providers. The goal is to ensure uninterrupted service delivery and a high level of IT system security.
The project implements the requirements of the NIS2 Directive and introduces:
- unified incident reporting rules,
- mandatory, systematic risk assessments,
- strengthened roles for national and sectoral CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Teams).
Entities subject to the system will be required to report incidents quickly — digital service providers within a maximum of 24 hours — which should shorten reaction times and improve transparency in information sharing between agencies.
The new regulations will also allow the government to identify hardware and software manufacturers that may pose risks to critical state systems (“high-risk vendors”). This is intended to better protect essential citizen-facing services from cyberattacks and foreign interference.
“The KSC Act has passed through the government. It is a key document because it determines that Poland will have an even stronger cyber shield. Work on it lasted seven years — two PiS governments couldn’t complete it in five. We did it in less than two years. When I took office, many said we wouldn’t succeed. But we did,” Gawkowski emphasized.
A Record Surge in Cyber Threats
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the importance of this legislation is growing in the context of the rapidly increasing scale of cyber threats. In 2024, CERT Polska (the national incident response team operating within NASK-PIB) recorded a record surge in cybercriminal activity:
- over 600,000 reports (a 62% year-on-year increase),
- a 29% rise in recorded incidents,
- an average of 50,000 reports per month.
This rise is driven not only by increased criminal activity but also by growing public awareness. While computer fraud and phishing dominated, NASK’s report also highlights the rise of more sophisticated operations, such as supply-chain attacks and preparatory activities targeting infrastructure.
Due to its geopolitical position and its role as a logistical hub supporting Ukraine, Poland is among the countries most exposed to operations by foreign state-linked actors.
“Poland is one of the most attacked countries in the world, and certainly the most attacked in Europe. We are in a digital war, and it must be stated clearly: Russia attacks us the most. Even though we repel more than 99% of attacks — and over 600,000 were reported last year — even if less than 1% succeeds, that is still dozens of serious threats. We need greater attention, more digital competencies, and that is why we are investing in these areas. In 2025, Poland will spend a record amount on cybersecurity,” Gawkowski says.
Record Spending on Cybersecurity in 2025
In 2025, Poland will allocate over 4 billion PLN to cybersecurity, including:
- 3.1 billion PLN for civilian cybersecurity — the largest investment in national cyber resilience in history,
- nearly 90 million PLN in targeted grants,
- almost 40 million PLN for the national CSIRT run by NASK-PIB,
- 355 million PLN from the Cybersecurity Fund,
- around 860 million PLN for projects financed from the National Recovery Plan (KPO).
An additional 1.8 billion PLN will come from the EU’s Digital Development Fund, including for the Cyber-Secure Local Government programme and the NASK Cybersecurity Center.
According to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the effectiveness of Poland’s cybersecurity efforts is confirmed by international rankings, including:
- 6th place globally in the MIT Technology Review Cyber Defense Index 2022/23,
- 4th place worldwide in the National Cyber Security Index.
The amendment will also extend the scope of the National Cybersecurity Strategy to include all sectors with essential and important entities (as defined by NIS2). A National Large-Scale Cyber Incident and Crisis Response Plan will also be developed to further strengthen the protection of Poland’s cyberspace.
