**Polish Officials Blame Russian Domestic Spy Agency for Devastating Cyberattacks**

The Polish government has issued a scathing accusation against Russia's domestic spy agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), claiming that they were behind a series of crippling cyberattacks on 30 renewable energy facilities, a manufacturing firm, and a plant supplying heat to nearly half a million customers in December.

A report by Poland's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) detailed the extent of the damage, describing the hacks as "purely destructive in nature," akin to arson. The team attributed the attacks to a group of hackers from the FSB, which has been linked to previous cyber operations under various nicknames, including "Berserk Bear" and "Dragonfly."

The timing of the attacks was particularly suspicious, as they coincided with low temperatures and snowstorms affecting Poland in the lead-up to New Year's Eve. According to the report, the Russian hackers' goal was to irreversibly destroy data stored on devices within the combined heat and power plant, but were thwarted by security software.

The Polish government has long been warning of a growing number of cyberattacks from Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. While Moscow consistently denies responsibility for malicious cyber activity, Poland's officials are now pointing fingers directly at the FSB.

An analysis published last week by researchers at ESET, a Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm, tied the malware used in the Polish attack to a Russian military intelligence hacking unit known as Sandworm. However, the CERT report partially backs an independent analysis that linked the operation to the FSB's specialized unit Center 16.

John Hultquist, chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, weighed in on the situation, warning that if the attack is indeed attributed to Berserk Bear, it represents a significant escalation from long-term espionage towards destructive action. "They have the means, the question was always did they have the motivation," he said. "Now, potentially based on this attribution, proven to us that they do have the motivation, which puts us in a much more serious situation."

Hultquist's comments raised concerns about the security of the Winter Olympics, set to kick off on February 6. Russia has previously attempted to disrupt the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games, and Hultquist warns that "disruptive cyberattacks are a very real threat." The timing of these warnings only adds to the sense of unease.

The Polish government's accusations have sparked an international reaction, with many calling for greater vigilance in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As one expert noted, "the question is no longer whether Russia has the capability to carry out such attacks, but rather, what are they willing to do?"