Albania was hit with a new cyberattack that affected the computer systems used by the state police and they blamed the government of Teheran for it.
The national police’s computer systems were hit by a cyberattack on Friday and according to initial information the attack was performed by the same actors who attacked the country’s public and government service systems in July.
The authorities have shut down computer control systems at seaports, airports and border posts in order to neutralize the criminal act and secure the systems.
Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed the attribution of this new cyber-attack to the same Iran-lined threat actor that launched the attack earlier.
Last week, the Albanian Prime Minister announced that Albania interrupted diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled the country’s embassy staff over the massive cyber-attack that hit the country in mid-July.
The relations between Albania and Iran have deteriorated since the government of Tirana offered asylum to thousands of Iranian dissidents.
The U.S. government, NATO, and the U.K. also formally blamed Iran for its reckless cyberattacks against Albania, saying the country would be held accountable for threatening the security of a NATO ally.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Iran ‘s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and its Minister of Intelligence over the cyber-attack that hit Albania in July.
MOIS is the primary intelligence agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a member of the Iran Intelligence Community.
The Iranian government denied it was behind the cyberattack and labeled Albania’s decision to sever diplomatic ties “an ill-considered and short-sighted action”.
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