Poland warns of surge in Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure

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Poland is facing an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks, much of it traced to Russian military intelligence, according to the country’s digital affairs minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski. He told Reuters that Russia has tripled its cyber resources directed at Poland this year, targeting sectors vital to national security.

Of the 170,000 cyber incidents recorded in the first nine months of 2025, a “significant portion” was attributed to Russian state-linked actors, while the rest involved financially motivated cybercrime. Poland now faces 2,000–4,000 attacks daily, of which 700–1,000 pose real threats to key infrastructure, Gawkowski said.

The minister noted that Russian groups are expanding their focus beyond water and sewage systems to include energy networks, and warned that the activity is becoming more coordinated and sophisticated. “Russian activity is the most severe because it targets infrastructure essential to maintaining normal life,” he said.

A major escalation occurred on September 10, when a cyberattack coincided with a Russian drone strike, marking Poland’s largest coordinated digital assault since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. False claims spread online that Ukraine had launched the drones, amplified by bot networks that had been dormant for years before suddenly reactivating.

Warsaw officials say Poland has become Russia’s top cyber target within NATO, due to its support for Kyiv and its strategic role in supplying Ukraine. The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not respond to requests for comment but has consistently denied involvement in cyber operations.

Trump’s EV rollback rattles America’s Battery Belt economy

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The U.S. Battery Belt — a stretch of billion-dollar electric vehicle and battery factories from Georgia to Indiana — is feeling the shockwaves of President Donald Trump’s EV policy shift, as automakers delay projects and rural communities brace for economic fallout.

In Stanton, Tennessee, population 450, Ford’s vast EV truck and battery complex once promised 6,000 jobs and a revival of the local economy. But after repeated delays, initial production has been pushed back to 2027, two years later than planned. Former mayor Allan Sterbinsky said locals now worry Ford might abandon or repurpose the 3,600-acre site entirely.

The slowdown reflects waning U.S. demand for electric cars after Trump allowed a $7,500 EV tax credit to expire on Sept. 30, a move Ford’s CEO Jim Farley warned could halve electric car sales. Analysts say this and other anti-EV measures have jeopardized projects across the South and Midwest.

A Reuters review of U.S. battery-investment plans found that even if all planned plants go forward, the country could face a glut of capacity. By 2030, factories could produce batteries for 13–15 million EVs, while demand may cover only a quarter of that, or about 3 million units, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

Some excess output could be redirected to hybrids or energy storage, but experts warn many facilities may go underutilized. “Much of what was originally going to benefit from these credits now no longer can,” said Jennifer Stafeil of KPMG.

Still, some companies press ahead. Hyundai’s $12.6 billion EV and battery complex in Georgia remains on track despite a federal investigation delay, and will employ 8,500 workers by 2031, according to local officials.

For towns like Stanton, however, the optimism of the EV boom has faded into uncertainty. “That’s on everybody’s mind,” said Sterbinsky. “We built our future around this.”

ECB warns digital euro could trigger €700 billion bank run risk

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A European Central Bank (ECB) simulation has found that a digital euro could drain up to €700 billion in deposits from commercial banks during a severe financial panic, potentially pushing about a dozen eurozone lenders into a liquidity squeeze.

The study, published on Friday and requested by European lawmakers, explored how the introduction of a central bank–backed digital currency might affect financial stability. In a worst-case “flight-to-safety” scenario, the ECB estimated that depositors could shift €699 billion—about 8.2% of all retail sight deposits—into digital euros if each user were allowed to hold up to €3,000.

The ECB said 13 of 2,025 banks in its analysis would breach their mandatory Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) under such stress. Smaller lenders relying heavily on household deposits would face the greatest strain.
“In a digital age, bank runs happen much quicker and much more forcefully than before,” warned Markus Ferber, a European Parliament lawmaker, urging caution over high holding limits.

However, the central bank described the scenario as “highly unlikely.” Under normal conditions, outflows would total just over €100 billion, well within safe liquidity margins. The ECB said lower holding caps of €500–€2,000 would sharply reduce risk and confirmed that such limits “safeguard the stability of the financial system.”

The study also found that a €3,000 limit could trim banks’ return on equity by 0.3 percentage points, varying by country.
“You can only make the digital euro attractive if you’re willing to hurt banks a little,” said Fabio De Masi, a German MEP.