Poland Agency Reports 2025 Breaches at 5 Water Plants

Poland's Internal Security Agency disclosed that hackers breached industrial control systems at five water treatment facilities in 2025, gaining the ability in some instances to alter equipment parameters and threaten public water supplies.

The facilities affected were in the towns of Jabłonna Lacka, Szczytno, Małdyty, Tolkmicko, and Sierakowo. According to the agency's report, released last week and marking its first public summary since 2014, attackers accessed supervisory control systems responsible for pumps, filters, flushing cycles, and chemical dosing. In Szczytno in May 2025, an intruder changed flushing cycles during live monitoring. In Jabłonna Lacka in September 2025, someone logged into an administrator account and adjusted pump and filter thresholds, as captured on video.

The breaches stemmed from basic security lapses, the report stated, including unchanged default passwords and management interfaces exposed directly to the public internet. "In some cases, the attackers gained access to industrial control systems and obtained the capability to modify device operating parameters," the document said. "This created a direct threat to the continuity of water supply...