Publication date: August 22, 2025
The Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs is responsible for creating and implementing state policy in the areas of computerization, telecommunications, and digital security. It conducts activities aimed at modernizing public administration by implementing modern technological solutions and supporting investments in the digital sector. Its goal is to simplify contacts between citizens and businesses with the administration and increase the efficiency of public services. The ministry is also responsible for developing personal data protection policies, expanding digital services, and eliminating barriers to accessing technology. It manages key state registers, such as the PESEL (Polish National Identification Number), ID cards, identity documents, and vehicle and driver records. It oversees electronic identification systems and trust services, enabling citizens to safely use e-government. The ministry implements Poland’s international commitments in the field of digitalization and participates in shaping EU digital policy. Additionally, it oversees the activities of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications, ensuring the sustainability and development of the telecommunications market. All these activities aim to ensure a modern, innovation-friendly, and user-friendly digital state. The Minister of Digital Affairs supervises the Central Information Technology Centre, the Institute of Telecommunications, the Scientific and Academic Computer Network in Warsaw and the IDEAS Research Institute.
It is the largest organization in Poland specializing in implementing IT projects for the public sector. Established in 2010 by the Minister of Interior and Administration through the merger of Local Data Banks and Voivodeship IT Centers, it is now a budgetary institution (a unit of the public finance sector). The Central IT Center has a team of over 1,500 experts with diverse expertise. It carries out tasks assigned by the Ministry and plays a key role in the country’s digital transformation, creating innovative tools and applications for citizens and the administration. It is technically responsible for the maintenance, construction, development, and operation of IT and ICT systems. The new statute is effective from August 30, 2023 (statute of a budgetary institution). The Central IT Center is headed by a director assisted by deputies; the director is appointed and dismissed by the Minister. The deputies are appointed by the director himself. The Central IT Center manages its assets independently, guided by the principle of efficient use. According to its statute, as part of its core activities, it performs, for a fee, specific public tasks and services commissioned by the Minister. These include, for example, the development of services, particularly systems for which the Minister is responsible – the Portal of the Republic of Poland (gov.pl); supervision of registers and records entrusted to the Central Information Technology Centre (CIO) over the information processed within them; and the creation and implementation of policies regarding the use of cloud computing technologies. Furthermore, it manages the Common State Information Technology Infrastructure program – services related to the Minister’s operation of the certification center. Furthermore, it performs services related to the implementation of tasks for other entities for a fee under separate agreements. The Minister exercises explicit oversight and commissions projects that implement his digitalization policy. The CIO implements projects for the state aimed at making life easier for Polish citizens. These include mObywatel, which offers digital documents such as e-ID and mobile driving licenses. In addition, this application allows to handle many official matters, such as checking the status of cases submitted via online forms (e.g. nForms, ePUAP, mObywatel, gov.pl). One can also block or check the status of PESEL number, suspend or revoke ID card, and much more. Another interesting and innovative project is the e-ID card, a document with an electronic layer – a built-in, invisible chip. Using the e-ID card, one can log in to administrative services, confirm identity online, or create an electronic signature. They also implemented the Central Register of Drivers project, which collects data on all vehicles, drivers, and their driving licenses. This eliminates the need to carry a registration certificate, driver’s license, or affix a control sticker to the windshield of the vehicle. Furthermore, they created the so-called Portal RP, which is a central gateway to digital information and state services. To facilitate the delivery and receipt of correspondence, the e-Delivery project was created. It allows for electronic sending and receiving of correspondence with the same legal effect as a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. To streamline electoral services, such as changing the polling location, verifying one’s data, or registering an intention to vote by mail, the Central Voter Register was created. The Central IT Center combined nine registers to create the State Register System. This integrated system contains data on all citizens, improving the efficiency of public administration offices.
Central Information Technology Centre also designed the development of Digital Identity, which allows users to securely confirm their identity online – users can use convenient electronic identification methods. These allow for authentication and login, for example, via a Trusted Profile or the mObywatel profile. Furthermore, the Central IT Center implemented the Common State IT Infrastructure project, through which public entities received an interface enabling the construction and management of their IT environments based on a catalog of cloud services, which provides a range of functionalities enabling the use of cloud resources.
Institute of Communications
Institute of Communications is the National Research Institute and it is an independent, national research and development institution in the field of telecommunications and information technologies, reporting to the Ministry of Digital Affairs. It is a non-profit research organization. Its activities include developing methods for managing and designing telecommunications networks, including radio networks that take into account rational spectrum management; designing, implementing, testing, deploying, developing, and operating telecommunications systems for public administration; conducting research that forms the basis for new network services (telecommunications and ICT) and assessing the quality of such services. Furthermore, its technical scope includes network planning and design, broadband networks, optoelectronics, radiocommunication networks, electromagnetic compatibility, telecommunications software, antennas, GNSS receivers, and transceivers.
The results of its research find practical applications in the activities of companies in the telecommunications sector. The Institute collaborates with national and international research centers, supporting the integration of scientific communities and actively participating in the creation of the European Research Area. Its activities are focused on advancing science and implementing research results in practice. The Institute holds a B+ scientific category in the discipline of Technical Computer Science and Telecommunications. It employs approximately 250 staff, including highly qualified scientists and experts specializing in telecommunications and information technology. It operates under the Act on Research Institutes of April 30, 2010, the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of December 23, 2015, and the statute approved on June 11, 2025. Technically, the Institute of Telecommunications operates, among other things, the ICT Inventory System (SIST), owned by the Minister of Digital Affairs and operated and administered by the institute itself. The statute (approved by the decision of the Minister of Digital Affairs of June 11, 2025) defines the institute’s governance structure and tasks.
The Institute of Telecommunications is formally affiliated with the Ministry through the supervision and implementation of a specific system (SIST) by the institute for the ministry. The Institute of Telecommunications also implements a number of initiatives. One of their latest projects, called RIDM, is the introduction of a new method supporting risk management in multi-criteria decision-making problems. The project aims to create a new approach to risk management for complex decisions, better reflecting the actual attitudes and preferences of decision-makers. The innovative nature of this solution involves expanding traditional multi-criteria methods with risk assessment elements that take into account individual sensitivity to loss and the subjective perception of uncertainty. Another new project, AIN, focuses on the development, validation, and practical application of a new generalization of interval numbers, enabling precise and intuitive modeling of uncertainty in the decision-making process. Key results of this project include the creation of new mathematical structures and models for describing uncertainty, as well as the development of algorithms and tools to support the decision-making process. Another interesting project is the ORMOBASS project – its main goal is to implement an operational R- Mode system in the Baltic Sea, a system for locating objects at sea for the purpose of providing positioning, navigation, and timing services (PNT), which would be fully independent of satellite navigation systems. This initiative is necessary because the Baltic Sea is one of the most congested bodies of water in the world and plays a significant role in the global transport of people and goods. The Institute of Telecommunications has also implemented the “Implementation of 5G Networks in the Polish Economy” project, which aims to implement activities that will enable 5G networks in Poland in an economically efficient and timely manner, allowing Poland to join the ranks of leaders in 5G deployment.
Scientific and Academic Computer Network (NASK)
NASK – this state-owned research institute in Warsaw, operating since 1991, also has legal personality. Its goal is to develop and implement solutions that support the development of ICT network infrastructure in Poland and to increase its efficiency and security. The institute conducts scientific and development work, as well as operational activities aimed at protecting the civilian part of the national cyberspace. Another important area of activity of the Scientific and Academic Computer Network is educating the public on the safe use of new technologies, with particular emphasis on protecting children and young people from the threats of the digital world, and promoting the idea of an information society. It has three research divisions and 14 research departments specializing in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. Technically, it performs numerous key functions, including registering .pl (DNS) and .gov.pl domains and providing network services such as IP transit, VPN, and VoIP. Under their umbrella, the CERT Polska team responds to cybersecurity incidents, and Dyżurnet.pl, a team of experts from the Scientific and Academic Computer Network, acts as a contact point for reporting illegal content on the Internet, particularly related to child sexual exploitation. The Institute’s ongoing tasks, particularly important for planning and implementing state policy, include implementing tasks related to the development of the Metropolitan Area Network, supporting the provision of cybersecurity to public entities within the scope assigned by the supervising minister, and undertaking and supporting the EZD RP system and related applications. Statutorily, it operates under the Act on Research Institutes, and supervision is exercised by the Minister of Digital Affairs. The statute defines the institute’s bodies – the Scientific Council and the director – along with the principles of their appointment, competences, and the possibility of establishing advisory teams.
The Act of 5 July 2018 on the National Cybersecurity System lists the tasks of the Scientific and Academic Computer Network Security Incident Response Team operating at the national level, led by NASK CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team). The Response Team (RTT) is obligated to perform these tasks. Its goal is to ensure cybersecurity at the national level, including the uninterrupted provision of essential services and digital services, by achieving an appropriate level of security for information systems used to provide these services and ensuring incident management.
The tasks of NASK, as defined in Article 26 of the aforementioned Act, include, in addition to monitoring threats, issuing notifications about identified threats, classifying incidents, including serious and significant incidents, as critical incidents, and coordinating the management of critical cybersecurity incidents, carrying out, in justified cases, tests on IT devices or software in order to identify vulnerabilities or transferring them to other countries, including European Union Member States, and receiving information about incidents from these countries serious and significant incidents affecting two or more Member States.
The Computer Security Incident Response Team is also regulated by an act of July 28, 2023, on Combating Abuse in Electronic Communications. Their task is to monitor smishing (a form of phishing in which criminals use text messages to extort personal data or money). They then notify the telecommunications company of the smishing incident. They also maintain and publish on their website a list of names and abbreviations reserved for public entities as a caption for messages originating from that public entity, as well as variants of these names and abbreviations.
IDEAS Research Institute
IDEAS Research Institute conducts scientific research and development primarily in the areas of artificial intelligence, but also in the sciences, engineering, and technology. Its mission will be in the future to support young scientists, collaborate with businesses, and implement research results in the public sector. The decision to establish IDEAS was based on the Regulation on the Establishment of the IDEAS Research Institute (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 238; hereinafter referred to as IDEASR), which entered into force on February 27, 2025. The Institute is intended to be a key element of the country’s digitalization strategy and strengthen Poland’s position in the international research space. According to the Regulation, it is jointly managed by the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MC) and the Ministry of National Defense (MON). It is intended to be a unique center for artificial intelligence research on a European scale. The National Court Register (KRS) entry was made in April 2025, but the statute and detailed formal documents are currently being prepared. IDEAS, meanwhile, is already planning its first initiatives, such as introducing an equivalent of common sense into artificial intelligence. Key features of this will be zero-shot generalization and the ability to adapt without forgetting. According to the IDEAS team, such generalization can be achieved through skillful scaling of models and data volumes.
Another initiative will be work on robotics and humanoid robots. Ideas Institute wants to prioritize robot interaction with their surroundings using cutting-edge tools, including machine learning with advanced computer vision, representation learning, and signal processing, with a particular emphasis on unsupervised techniques. IDEAS also aims to improve medical diagnostics through AI, analyzing medical imaging data such as radiology and histopathology, to combat malignant tumors. IDEAS wants to apply complex algorithms to detect and segment tumor sites, classify disease onset, and predict treatment response. IDEAS also has many other promising initiatives, such as precision forestry and neural rendering.
The joint activities of these institutions create a cohesive ecosystem that not only responds to the current needs of the administration and citizens but also sets directions for the further development of the digital state. The Central Information Technology Center provides practical tools to facilitate the daily lives of citizens, the Institute of Telecommunications develops telecommunications technologies and standards, NASK promotes cybersecurity and education, and the IDEAS Institute opens new perspectives in the field of artificial intelligence and modern technologies. Their role therefore extends beyond administration – they influence the labor market, the economy, education, and defense, and shape Poland’s image as a modern and internationally competitive country. Thanks to the synergy between science, administration, and the technology sector, it is possible to create solutions that genuinely improve the quality of life of citizens and enhance the security and resilience of the state in a dynamically changing digital world.