Poland introduces vote protection programme due to Russian influence
Russian secret services intend to interfere with Poland’s 2025 presidential campaign, the minister for digital affairs said while presenting a new election protection programme on Tuesday.
The 'Election Umbrella' programme, outlined by Krzysztof Gawkowski at a press conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, is aimed at shielding the upcoming presidential election from foreign influence, safeguarding cyberspace and combatting disinformation.
"The election protection programme, named 'Election Umbrella', came in response to the fact that the state today stands on the side of democracy and the constitutional order, aiming to protect the constitution and the electoral process," he said.
He reported that several weeks ago, together with Minister of the Interior and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak, they identified that "we are dealing with organised actions, provocations, and initiatives aimed at destabilising the electoral situation in Poland.
"This influence was clearly identified. It comes from Russian special services - both civilian and military - which, with full intent and operational plans, aimed to and continue to try to influence Poland's presidential campaign," he said.
Gawkowski added that state security services have obtained information indicating that the Russian side is also seeking individuals who might influence the election campaign from within.
Gawkowski announced that PLN 4 million will be allocated to the secure elections website (bezpiecznewybory.pl) with additional financial resources directed toward training and implementing procedures for providing information to electoral committees.
He added that the programme would commence on February 2 and will be integrated with the activities of the Internal Security Agency (ABW).
The minister also said that the programme would include free cybersecurity scanning of domains and the provision of information regarding password leaks.
"We will seek to involve all social media platforms operating in Poland in counteracting disinformation. This means that online activity will be monitored in a way that prevents foreign interference," Gawkowski said. (PAP)
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