**Russian Hackers Breach Polish Power Grid Due to Lax Security**

The Polish government has revealed that suspected Russian government hackers broke into parts of the country's energy grid infrastructure, exploiting poor security measures. According to a technical report released by Poland's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) on Friday, the hackers targeted wind and solar farms, as well as a heat-and-power plant, at the end of last year.

The report highlights the ease with which the hackers gained access to the systems, citing two major security vulnerabilities. Firstly, the targeted systems used default usernames and passwords, a basic mistake that any cyber-attacker could exploit. Secondly, multi-factor authentication was not enabled on these systems, making it trivial for the hackers to gain unauthorized access.

Once inside, the hackers attempted to infect the systems with wiper malware designed to erase and destroy them. This malicious software is believed to have been used in an attempt to shut down the power supply, although its ultimate goal remains unclear. Fortunately, the attacks were stopped at the heat-and-power plant, but not at the wind and solar farms, where the malware made their systems inoperable.

The report describes the attacks as "purely destructive in nature," drawing an analogy to physical arson. The hackers failed to disrupt power at any of their targeted facilities, and even if they had succeeded, it is unlikely that the hack would have affected the stability of the Polish power system during this period.

Previous reports from cybersecurity firms ESET and Dragos had implicated a notorious Russian government hacking group known as Sandworm in the attacks. However, Poland's CERT has accused a different group, Berserk Bear or Dragonfly, which is not typically associated with destructive attacks but rather more traditional cyberespionage.

Sandworm, on the other hand, has a well-documented history of targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine and disrupting power supplies in 2015, 2016, and 2022. The recent incident in Poland serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored hacking groups to critical infrastructure.

The report's findings highlight the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in protecting against such attacks. By using default passwords and failing to implement multi-factor authentication, organizations put themselves at risk of being exploited by malicious actors.