Poland will allocate more than 3 billion zlotys ($759 million) to create a "cyber shield" in the wake of a recent suspected Russian cyberattack on a state-run media outlet, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on June 3.
A message appeared on the website of the Polish Press Agency (PAP) on May 31 claiming that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had ordered a "partial mobilization" to begin in July. Gawkowski and other Polish officials then said the message was false and that it was likely the work of a Russian-backed disinformation campaign.
Gawkowski told the Polsat news agency that the goal of the likely Russian-backed operation was to spread "disinformation before the (upcoming EU parliamentary) elections" and "paralyze society."
"Today, Poland is on the front line of the cyber fight against Russia," Gawkowski said at a press conference on June 3.
"(Russia) has one goal—to destabilize the situation and ensure that the forces supporting the breakup of the EU can benefit," Gawkowski added.
Russia has denied responsibility for the cyberattack on PAP and refuted the assertion that it is trying to destabilize Poland or the EU.
Dmytro Basmat
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