According to experts Poland still has a lot to do as regards the cyberspace security issue. ”The citizens who do shopping in internet expect they will be protected by the state. However, Polish people are not very much into the subject nowadays. This is a place for frauds and spying, also on part of corporations” - a representative of the Ministry of National Defence said. And he adds that the state should take immediate actions in the area of cyberspace to effectively prevent such cases.
Statement of Marek Bieńkowski, Director of the Department of Public Order and Internal Security
Cyberspace
Therefore, NIK wants to check if Poland has a coherent system in place to monitor and prevent threats in cyberspace by public administration bodies. ”It’s worth answering the question: Are we building a reliable system in Poland at the moment and do we have funds guaranteed for that purpose?” - says Marek Bieńkowski, Director of the Department of Public Order and Internal Security at NIK.
NIK inspectors will audit the following ministries: of Administration and Digitalisation, National Defence and the Interior. They will also audit the Internal Security Agency, the Office of Electronic Communications, the Government Centre for Security and the National Police Headquarters. NIK will look into the institutions’ activity since 2008 but a special focus will be on the past two years.
The experts agreed that in order to make sure Polish people are secure in cyberspace, cooperation is needed between the state and private companies which have resources critical for that purpose. They are the ones that take control of cyberspace. What can we expect from public institutions in these circumstances? ”Maybe at least to implement the document which is fundamental nowadays, that is the Cyberspace Protection Policy of the Republic of Poland” - says Marek Bieńkowski. And he adds that since the public administration could not implement that document for a year - and this is what NIK has heard of - it is hard to expect private entities to apply it.
Also NIK President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski underscored the need for collaboration between the public and the private sector in the field of our country’s security. ”We also realise that the EU Directive on cybersecurity will come to Poland very soon. That’s why some of our regulations will have to be changed and others adopted. This is a good time to check at what stage of preparations for that big change our country is. This is a question our audit should answer as well.”
