Cyberwarfare

Two Men Arrested Following Poland Railway Hacking

Polish police have arrested two men suspected of illegally hacking into the national railway’s communications network, causing disruption to 20 trains.

Norfolk Southern train hacking

Polish police on Sunday arrested two men suspected of illegally hacking into the national railway’s communications network, which destabilized traffic in some areas of the country this weekend.

“The two men arrested are Polish citizens,” said Tomasz Krupa, a police spokesman in the eastern city of Bialystok where the arrest occurred.

Police also seized radio equipment from the apartment where the men, who are 24 and 29 years of age, were detained.

On Friday night, the radio communication network of the Polish PKP railway was hacked near the northwestern city of Szczecin leading to the issuing of several stop signals which brought to a standstill or delayed some 20 trains.

Traffic resumed a few hours later, according to PKP.

The attacks continued on Saturday and Sunday in other parts of the country, without posing major problems to traffic.

Media reports said the signals were interspersed with renditions of the Russian national anthem and a recording of a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Poland, a loyal ally of Ukraine, plays a key role in the transit of Western arms into the country.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The country’s internal security agency said Saturday it was investigating the incident.

“We know that for some months there have been attempts to destabilise the Polish state. Such attempts have been undertaken by the Russian Federation in conjunction with Belarus,” deputy coordinator of special services Stanislaw Zaryn told the PAP news agency.

The attack “did not pose risks to passengers’ health or lives”, he added.

During the week Polish railways saw several accidents, including two derailments, in which nobody was hurt.

Zaryn said there was no evidence to suggest those incidents and the hacking were linked.

Related: New TSA Directive Aims to Further Enhance Railway Cybersecurity

Related: Belarus Hacktivists Target Railway in Anti-Russia Effort

Related: TETRA Radio Standard Vulnerabilities Can Expose Military Comms, Industrial Systems

Related Content

Copyright © 2024 SecurityWeek ®, a Wired Business Media Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Exit mobile version