The National Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case of a false alarm raised after last week's series of train stoppages in four provinces caused by unauthorized use of the "radio-stop" signal. On Sunday, the police have detained two men, one of whom - according to media reports - is a police officer. Stanisław Żaryn, deputy coordinator of special services, told tvn24.pl that another such incident happened after the two suspects had been detained.
The investigation into the false alarm has been launched by the Białystok branch of the National Public Prosecutor's Office.
Stanisław Żaryn, deputy coordinator of special services told tvn24.pl that Polish services were closely cooperating in order to determine how many unauthorized "radio-stop" signals the two detained men could have sent.
He added, however, that two hours after the suspects had been arrested, another incident involving the "radio-stop" signal took place in southwest Poland.
"This could mean we are dealing with a wider and coordinated practice," Żaryn said.
"At this stage we have no grounds to pass information suggesting that these problems have been inspired by a foreign state. The geopolitical situation, however, urges us to examine in detail who might have been behind such incidents," he added.
Media: police officer among the detained
He also mentioned that similar incidents had happened in the past. "It's not a new incident for the Polish railways but, nevertheless, the case requires an immediate investigation."
According to RMF FM reporters, one of the men detained on Sunday is a police officer. The prosecutor's office has refused to officially confirm or deny this information. Sources contacted by the tvn24.pl investigative journalist Robert Zieliński confirm that one of the detained is a police officer.
Tomasz Krupa of Białystok Police said the two men were arrested at a private apartment in Białystok.
Krupa added that the police has also found radio transceivers at the flat.
According to unofficial sources, both detained men are Polish nationals. The National Public Prosecutor's Office has not yet replied to our questions.
A series of train stoppages
Poland's domestic security agency is investigating a hacking attack on the country's railway network which led to traffic disruption overnight, the state-run Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported on Saturday.
Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) and police are probing an unauthorized use of the system involved in rail traffic management, Żaryn told PAP at the time.
Hackers used railway frequencies to transmit a signal that triggered an emergency stoppage of trains in northwestern Poland causing delays, the agency reported.
Żaryn said any such interference was treated seriously given recent attempts by Russia to destabilize Poland.
"Such attempts are being made by the Russian Federation in cooperation with Belarus, and also for this reason we do not underestimate any signals that come to the ABW," he said.
Separately, the state railway operator is investigating the derailment of two trains and a collision of another two on Thursday. No one was injured in these incidents.
According to Żaryn, there was currently no indication that Thursday's incidents were linked with the hacking attack.
Autorka/Autor: gf
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvn24.pl, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Shutterstock