Albania blames Iran for second cyberattack

Albania’s Interior Ministry has said that one of its border systems was hit by a second cyberattack that came from the same Iranian source as an earlier attack, The Associated Press reported.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the previous evening, an Albanian police transmitting system was found to be “under a cyberattack similar to the one that (government portal) e-Albania suffered in July.”

“Preliminary results show the attack was committed by the same hand,” the statement said, adding that authorities temporarily closed down all the systems, including the Total Information Management System (TIMS), which records entries and exits at the border crossing. Local media reported long queues in at least two border crossings in the south.

“Another cyberattack from the same aggressors already exposed and denounced by Albania’s allies and friendly countries, was seen last evening on the TIMS system,” Prime Minister Edi Rama tweeted on Saturday, adding that officials are coordinating defensive work with allies.

The cyberattack came days after Albania announced that it had severed diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled the country’s embassy staff after it blamed Iran for the earlier cyberattack on July 15 that targeted its government websites.

Iran later rejected Albania’s accusation that it was behind the cyberattack as “baseless” and called Albania’s decision to sever diplomatic ties “an ill-considered and short-sighted action”.

The United States scolded Iran over the alleged attack, vowing to provide support to its ally in the Balkans.

The US later imposed sanctions on Iran’s intelligence agency and its leadership in response to the attack on Albania. NATO and the European Union also denounced the attack and supported Albania’s move.