NIK believes PiS doesn’t care about your cybersecurity
The government has many responsibilities to its citizens, whether they support the ruling party or not. In this case, however, the PiS considers that it does not have to worry about the cybersecurity of Poles, while the Supreme Audit Office has a completely different opinion on the matter. What did NIK point out to the rulers? And what about PiS?
According to NIK, the PiS government does not care about the cybersecurity of Polish citizens
The Supreme Audit Office analyzed the state’s activities in the field of prevention and combating the impact of selected online crimes (2019-2021). As you’ve probably guessed, it’s not good. According to NIK, in 2019-2021, the national cybersecurity system has overlooked ordinary citizens, even though they represent the largest group of network users. This is despite the fact that threat monitoring and analysis on behalf of the Minister for Digitization and the Government Plenipotentiary for Cybersecurity have clearly shown that computer fraud aimed at individuals dominates the internet, particularly phishing and identity theft.
The Supreme Audit Institution says outright that individual internet users have been left alone – without up-to-date and official sources of information about threats and recommended protective measures. In addition, NIK believes that cybersecurity education activities were conducted unreliably by the Minister of Digitization and largely failed to reach citizens.
The Minister for Digitization and the Government Plenipotentiary for Cybersecurity believe that ensuring the safety of citizens online is not their responsibility. The Supreme Accounting Chamber disagrees – according to the NIK, such an obligation arises from the Law on the National Cybersecurity System, as well as the Law on Government Administrative Departments, according to which the Minister of Digitization is responsible for the state policy on the protection of personal data and security of cyberspace in the civil dimension.
where is money The PiS should spend almost 26 million PLN
In its report, NIK also addresses the problem of the IT system S46, which was created by, among others, to enable the reporting and handling of incidents and to assess risks and warn of dangers. A year after its launch, i.e. in March 2022, only 14 of the approximately 350 entities that the Chancellery of the Prime Minister (KPRM) said it should make it, were connected to it.
The construction and implementation of the IT system S46 cost PLN 9.8 million, the cost of its maintenance and development in 2021 – PLN 6.3 million, and PLN 9.5 million was planned for 2022 (similar or even higher amounts in subsequent years). The Supreme Audit Institution believes that the measures taken so far by the Minister for Digitization and the Government Plenipotentiary in relation to the construction and development of the S46 system have created a risk of misuse of significant public funds.
NIK also revealed that there is a big problem with reported cybercrimes because the police, as well as the Prime Minister’s Office, which supports the work of the Minister for Digitization and the Government Plenipotentiary for Cybersecurity, have people, money, software and equipment that do not have an effective fight and limit the impact of cybercrime. In addition, no clear procedures have been put in place for internet users reporting a cyberattack or for police officers receiving reports.
The Supreme Audit Office reports that in December 2021 there were only 305 officers specialized in fighting computer crimes nationwide (0.33% of all police departments). In addition, many police officers did not even have the basic knowledge to efficiently receive tips and effectively preserve evidence.
Despite the huge expenses for the S46 IT system, there was a lack of funds for the purchase of hardware and software, as well as investments and the organization of training courses in the field of cyber security. Dependencies were also a problem – cybercrime departments As a matter of fact are practically independent of the Office for Combating Computer Crime at the General Police Headquarters, although they should work closely with it. However, the good news is that the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC) is set to be established, which will employ 1.8 thousand people by the end of 2025. appropriate class of specialists.
What about the digitization of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister?
The digitization of the chancellery of the prime minister referred to the results of the NIK audit. She thinks so The publication of a report on an inspection carried out two years ago is intended to mislead the public. At the same time, initiatives and solutions aimed at increasing the security of Poles when using the Internet were remembered. Soon, a module will appear in the mObywatel application that will allow you to reserve your PESEL number – thanks to this, no one will be held financially responsible for a stolen identity.
In addition, PiS intends to oblige operators to block phishing text messages (smishing) and voice calls in which someone impersonates another person or entity (spoofing). The digitization of the Prime Minister’s Office also contradicts the accusation of insufficient awareness of threats – according to the digitization of the Prime Minister’s Office, their awareness is growing, which is evidenced by the significant increase in case reports to CERT Polska: 116,071 were accepted in 2021, and already 322,479 in 2022. Help with this numerous campaigns aimed at different target groups and intended to increase their impact (instead of one for all – NIK believes that messages must). be standardized, digitization of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister is of a different opinion).
The allegation of mismanagement was also referred to – it was reported that the S46 system was not directly aimed at combating cybercrime against “individual internet users”, and the funds, the amount of which was stated in the NIK report, were allocated to the construction and Maintaining a secure network system.
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