3 Lessons Learned from the 2025 Polish Power Grid Cyberattack
Image courtesy of Radek Kucharski under Attribution 4.0 International Deed, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.
The Polish power grid was the victim of a cyberattack in December 2025 which compromised systems at 30 energy facilities. Thankfully, no outages occurred – this time. But next time, who knows? The good news is that there were a few lessons learned that came out of the event, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
What Did the Polish Power Grid Cyberattack Teach Us?
The cyberattack is said to have been triggered by one of two groups – either “Berserk Bear” or “Sandworm” – both of which have ties to Russia. While the attack did not cause any power outages, it prevented system operators from controlling and monitoring distribution operations for a period of time, which is scary. And it could have been much, much worse.
CISA said that vulnerable internet-facing edge devices were initially breached, probably by targeting reused or weak passwords on devices lacking multifactor authentication. From there, malware was released that targeted internal systems. So, one of the key lessons is that utilities must deploy measures designed to protect their vulnerable edge devices that link to operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS).
The hackers accessed a range of OT control devices using accounts with default login credentials. Thus, another lesson is that operators should always change default passwords. Ideally, controls should be put in place by IT that forces the replacement of default passwords with unique passphrases that mirror best practices.
Once the hackers gained control of the operating systems, they modified firmware, enabling them to delete important system files and reconfigure firewall rules to open the floodgates even more. So, the third key lesson is to ensure that firmware verification is installed on all OT devices.
Top sum it up, the Polish power grid attack offers 3 lessons learned that should be embraced by utilities as part of their emergency preparedness efforts: (1) protect vulnerable edge devices, (2) change default passwords, and (3) ensure that firmware verification is installed. Good luck!
