Britainʼs National Cyber Security Center and a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council confirmed that it was the Iranian government that carried out the cyber attack on Albaniaʼs digital infrastructure.
This is stated in a Reuters publication, as well as in a statement published on the White House website.
""Iranʼs reckless actions showed a blatant disregard for the Albanian people, severely restricting their ability to access essential public services. The UK is supporting our valuable partner and NATO ally. We join Albania and other allies in exposing Iranʼs unacceptable actions," said the newly appointed British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley.
The United States also strongly condemned Iranʼs cyber attack against Albania. The US supported Albanian Prime Minister Edi Ramaʼs call to hold Iran accountable for this.
"We will continue to support Albania’s remediation efforts over the longer-term, and we invite partners and Allies to join us in holding malicious cyber actors accountable and building a secure and resilient digital future," the White House National Security Council spokeswoman said in a statement.
- The cyber attack on Albania took place on July 15 on the eve of the "Free Iran World Summit", which is being held by the Iranian opposition. It was supposed to take place on July 23-24, but the day before the summit, it was canceled due to the threat of a terrorist attack. As a result of the cyber attack, most government websites and services became unavailable, and hackers were able to steal part of the Prime Ministerʼs correspondence. The investigation determined that this cyberattack was an Iranian-sponsored act of aggression. It was carried out by four hacker groups, one of which had previously appeared in cyberattacks on Israel.
- On September 7, the Government of Albania decided to break diplomatic relations with Iran completely with Iran. All Iranian diplomats and other diplomatic staff were ordered to leave the country within 24 hours.