Russian Cyberattack Targets Poland’s Power Grid in Winter Strike In late December, a coordinated cyberattack struck Poland’s power grid, targeting at least 12 and likely closer to 30 distributed energy resource (DER) sites, including combined heat and power (CHP) facilities, wind farms, and solar dispatch systems. The assault, attributed with moderate confidence to the Russian threat group Electrum (a distinct cluster overlapping with Sandworm/APT44), aimed to disrupt operational technology (OT) systems, damaging critical equipment beyond repair. Despite the attackers’ efforts, the strike failed to cut power, preserving 1.2 GW or 5% of Poland’s energy supply. However, the incident exposed severe vulnerabilities in decentralized energy infrastructure. Researchers at Dragos, a leading OT/ICS security firm, warned that the absence of outages should not downplay the attack’s severity, particularly given its timing during winter, when energy demand peaks. The report emphasized the potential lethal consequences of such disruptions, noting that attackers often exploit high-impact periods to maximize civilian harm. The attackers demonstrated deep technical expertise, compromising remote terminal units (RTUs), edge devices, and Windows-based systems at DER sites. They disabled communications equipment, severing remote monitoring and control, though power generation continued uninterrupted. Some OT/ICS devices were rendered inoperable, with configurations corrupted beyond recovery, while Windows systems were wiped entirely. While the attack’s narrow scope prevented a nationwide blackout, Dragos highlighted the risk of system frequency destabilization, which could trigger cascading failures similar to the 2025 Iberian grid collapse. The incident aligns with Electrum’s broader campaign, which has previously deployed destructive malware like DynoWiper, Caddywiper, and Industroyer2 against Ukrainian and other European energy networks. The group’s expansion into Poland signals an escalating threat to critical infrastructure across the region.