They discovered what IT specialists had installed on their computers and were shocked. Now there is a prosecutor's office

The case begins in the fall of 2022 with the Nitro-Chem plant in Bydgoszcz, the largest producer of TNT in NATO and the producer of, among others, missiles and warheads, anti-tank mines and aircraft bombs, is then headed by Andrzej Łysakowski. He is a manager with many years of experience who brought the company back on track after a period of inept management by the previous president of PiS, Krzysztof K.

The president of the company decided to conduct an IT security audit. Gigabytes of secret information of the highest importance for the security of Poland and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization flow through the company. Meanwhile, employees complained about strange things happening on their computers. The management board of Nitro-Chem received the report results in mid-October 2022. Onet described it in mid-June 2023.

Scandalous practices in a company that is key to Poland's security

The audit showed that remote login software was installed on the computers of strategically important employees, including Łysakowski, which did not show information when another user had access to the device, made changes to it, or read or downloaded information on the computer. The administrators of the IT system of the strategic company were two people who had no IT education.

Krzysztof M. and Radosław N. admitted to installing the spy program. The chief IT officer explained that he did it on the orders of Krzysztof K. and his then right-hand man and former financial director Karolina Szober. IT specialists were fired. The situation was presented to the Nitro-Chem management board in November 2023. Łysakowski announced that he wanted to order another audit to find out what documents were leaked from the company's computers and where.

Scandal following the audit of the largest explosives manufacturer in NATO

A month later, the then president of the Bydgoszcz company was dismissed along with his deputy Wojciech Kotlarek. Neither of them heard the official reasons for their dismissal. After the case was publicized by Onet, it turned out that prosecutor's proceedings were pending against Krzysztof K. at that time. In July, he and other people were detained by the Central Anticorruption Bureau and charged with participating in an organized criminal group.

Now the prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation into the installation of spy software on the computers of strategic employees of Nitro-Chem – the then president and head of human resources. A former employee of Nitro-Chem, unmentioned by name or function, notified the Bydgoszcz-Południe District Prosecutor's Office about the possibility of committing a crime. So far, it is not known what information flowed from the company that is key to Poland's security and where it went.