{
  "id": 283165,
  "title": "Security researchers scanned the Polish web and found courts, hospitals, and airports at risk of hacks",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/security-researchers-scanned-the-polish-web-and-found-courts",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-07T21:00:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechCrunch",
    "slug": "techcrunch",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/security-researchers-scanned-the-polish-web-and-found-courts-hospitals-and-airports-at-risk-of-hacks/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two Polish security researchers set out to assess the susceptibility of their nation's internet infrastructure to cyberattacks, revealing a concerning discovery. At the Def Con cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, Robert Kruczek and Kamil Szczurowski disclosed that over 10,000 public agencies and 250,000 websites across Poland were exposed to security vulnerabilities. Among the targeted entities, airports, hospitals, and government offices were among those at risk. The researchers attributed the susceptibility to faulty software and the absence of bug bounties, which made it difficult for security flaws to be reported and addressed. Notably, they found critical vulnerabilities in widely-used content management system Pad CMS, which allowed them to access over 300 websites without passwords due to the software being \"end of life\" - no longer supported. The researchers reported their findings to governmental authorities, hoping to enhance Poland's cyber defenses following a series of suspected Russian hacks targeting critical sectors like energy and water.",
  "summary": "Researchers found common points of failure, like software used to organize and display web content, could have allowed hackers to run riot through government websites.",
  "key_points": [
    "Over 10,000 Polish public agencies and 250,000 websites exposed to vulnerabilities",
    "Airports, hospitals, and government offices at risk of hacks",
    "Critical vulnerabilities in Pad CMS allowed unauthorized access to websites"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/283165.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}