Poland investigates Iran links behind cyberattack on nuclear facility

Poland is looking into whether an attempted cyberattack on a nuclear research facility was carried out by Iran, the government said on Thursday.

The country’s digital minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said in an emailed statement that Poland had “identified an attempted cyberattack on the servers of the National Centre for Nuclear Research,” which authorities had thwarted.

He told local media that the attack was carried out “in the ​past few days,” Reuters reported. 

The nuclear center said in a statement that “all safety systems operated according to procedures.” A reactor is “operating safely and smoothly at full power,” Jakub Kupecki, the center’s director said in the statement. The facility carries out research into nuclear energy; Poland does not have nuclear weapons of its own. 

Polish cybersecurity services and the energy ministry are working with the facility, Gawkowski said. 

The minister told local media that there are early signals suggesting the attack came from Iran, Reuters reported. “The first identifications of the entry vectors … are related to Iran,” he said, adding that more investigation is required. 

Gawkowski added that hackers could also have used indicators linking the attack to Iran in efforts to hide their real origins. Poland has faced a huge number of Russian cyberattacks since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.

Western cyber and intelligence agencies have warned critical entities to be on high alert for Iranian cyberattacks following the start of the conflict in late February.

The Iranian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to a request for comment.