Abstract

Aim: The main purpose of these considerations is to identify the cyberspace protection issues in the light of the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Poland of 2014, Polish legislation in the field of cybercrime protection, the cyberspace protection policy and the attitude of the European Union to cyber-terrorism.

Introduction: Concepts such as the security of Poland, cyberterrorism, operational control, uniformed services or special services have remained the front-page story. However, this is not the outcome of the current need, media coverage, current international circumstances or organizational changes, but rather the effect of many years of neglecting this important aspect of simulation, forecasting and reacting to potential security threats. Along with the civilization development in the last decade, technological, social, political or cultural changes have occurred. One of the most important elements of the above changes is the development concerning global processes of information exchange, as well as information transfer and processing. While providing benefits to many countries, it causes dependence on IT technologies. The reference changes entail a kind of threat to the states, which isreferred to as cyber-terrorism. One can speak of the so-called information war, which means all actions aimed at gaining an informational advantage by influencing information itself, information processes, IT systems and computer networks of the opponent, while ensuring the protection of one’s own information resources. This term was coined earlier, but it grew in importance in the Internet age.

Project and methods: To determine the essence of cyberspace protection, considerations were made regarding the methodological foundations of the studied area, in the field of security of the Polish,European Union and NATO`s cyberspace. A monographic method was employed, together with the analysis of source materials and verification of existing data.

Results: On the basis of the conducted research, it was found that all the actions and decisions taken under the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime are consistent with other legal acts, as well as respect human rights, including the right of freedom and the opportunity to express one’s opinions and views. International cooperation between in the area of cyberspace is aimed at harmonising legal acts and all kinds of regulations, in order to facilitate and coordinate actions in the field of cyber security. The legal standards of different countries, when they are coordinated with one another, make it easier to track, prosecute and punish cybercriminals.

Conclusions: The conclusions presented in this paper enable us to define the actions needed to identify the actual risks resulting from cyberspace threats, along with related legislation.

Keywords: cyberspace, security, cooperation, information war, uniformed services, information exchange, cyber-terrorism, cyber attacks

Type of article: review article