The ABW warned on Wednesday that minors and young adults are increasingly exposed to extremist content online, including material spread through messaging apps, social media, and gaming forums that offer users a high level of anonymity.
The warning appeared in the agency’s report for 2024 and 2025.
The ABW is Poland’s domestic counterintelligence and security service, responsible for counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and protecting the country’s constitutional order.
“Extreme behavior among young people is rarely conditioned by a specific ideology,” the agency said. “More often, it results from fascination with violence, including mass murders and the brutal activity of terrorist structures.”
The agency said most radicalized individuals remain active only online, but it has identified isolated cases in which people made direct preparations for terrorist attacks.
The ABW cited several recent cases. In May 2025, officers detained a 17-year-old from the Podkarpackie region in southeastern Poland who was preparing an attack intended to support the extremist jihadist group Islamic State. In April and June 2025, officers detained three 19-year-olds from Olsztyn, northern Poland, who were planning a terrorist attack, including against a local school.
The agency also said officers detained a 19-year-old Polish citizen in November 2025 on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack in Poland.
The ABW warned that interest in terrorist propaganda, including Islamic State material, was increasing among very young people. In extreme cases, it said, exposure to such content could lead to preparations for attacks, physical assaults, or attempts to build explosive devices.
At the same time, the agency assessed that the risk from Islamist terrorism in Poland remains relatively low compared with Western Europe. It said individual cases of radicalization had been identified among both Polish citizens and foreigners living in Poland.
The agency said it prepared 178 analytical reports on terrorist threats for decision-makers in 2024 and 2025. It also conducted 19 investigations, including seven opened in 2025, and sent nearly 700 operational reports on potential terrorist threats over the two-year period.
The report also pointed to a visible increase in activity by far-right groups, alongside continued activity by anti-state and anti-system groups. The agency said such movements use social media for propaganda and self-promotion, spreading content that deepens polarization and reinforces extreme attitudes.
The ABW said the rhetoric of some anti-state leaders and activists often overlaps with support for the policies of Russia and Belarus. It warned that manipulation and disinformation can make people more vulnerable to radicalization and lead them to view Russian and Belarusian narratives as sources of order, strength, and security.
The report also noted a rise in incidents involving far-left environmental groups. The agency said some activists had damaged property, disrupted public order, and interfered with the operation of critical infrastructure, including sites linked to energy supply.
As part of its wider security work, the ABW said it reviewed about 5,500 applications linked to international trade in strategically important goods. It also issued more than 880 opinions connected with licenses for companies producing or trading in explosives, weapons, ammunition, and military or police technology.
Source: IAR, PAP