State Activities in the Securing of Cyberspace

The development of civilisation has created a new, previously unknown environment called cyberspace. The creationof this new environment determines activities for its protection. One of the most important changes in the contemporary securityenvironment is the emergence of cyberspace as a new field of activity of the state and citizens. This change means the state mustbe prepared for threats which it has not had to deal with before. In a globalised world, such actions must be taken togetherwith the international and European community. The article presents the contemporary descriptions of cyberspace, cyber security,cybercrime and the initiatives taken by the state — the Republic of Poland — in order to meet the challenges posed by the newthreats associated with them. It presents measures to identify these, prevent them and eliminate their consequences. It revealsthe actions taken by the highest authorities, central administrative bodies, state audit organisations, security formations, as wellas within the scientific and research environment. In particular, it focuses on the activities undertaken by the Internal SecurityAgency and the Police. A developed model of cooperation between authorities responsible for the security of cyberspace is presented.Also presented are the initiatives taken by the Polish police to counter ever growing and evolving cybercrime. These includecooperation with Interpol and Europol, not only in combating the phenomena, but also in the area of training. As a consequence,the article shows interdependencies arising in the area of cyber security, including activities of state institutions at the nationaland international levels.