- Poland is developing an application allowing citizens to report suspicious incidents.
- The idea arose after sabotage on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line.
- It is planned to provide identity verification to minimize fake news.
The Polish Armed Forces are preparing a mobile application through which citizens will be able to report suspicious incidents including spotting drone sightings or threats to critical infrastructure. The daily Rzeczpospolita reported on this with reference to the statements of the army representatives, reports the Warsaw correspondent TASR.
The intention to create an application was announced in November after sabotage on the railway line between Warsaw and Lublin. In response to the incidents, the Ministry of Defense, together with the Ministry of the Interior, launched Operation Horizon, in which the military supports the police in protecting critical infrastructure.
The Chief of the General Staff, Wieslaw Kukula, then announced the creation of a tool allowing citizens to send information, photos or the location of suspicious events, which should help the units react more quickly. The police received the first report about the explosion from citizens the evening before the train driver discovered the damage to the track, but the patrol failed to locate it.
According to Rzeczpospolita, it will be possible to report, for example, persons photographing strategic infrastructure, suspicious objects near tracks or drones through the application. The development is ensured by experts from the Command of the Cyber Defense Forces, and the application is already in the testing phase.
The project also provides for a connection to a system that serves to verify the identity of users through a verified profile, electronic banking or the mObywatel application, which should limit the risk of false reports. It is not yet clear to which institutions the reports will be directed or whether the application will become part of mObywatel’s portfolio of electronic state administration services. According to the newspaper, it could be made available at the beginning of next year.
