• For weeks, the US government has been on the ground in Albania for investigating and mitigating cyberattack
• According to EDI Rama, Cyber Attack was state-sponsored aggression
• Albania has decided to terminate diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran

Edi Rama, Albania’s Prime Minister, stated in an address to the Nation that on July 15, Albania became the target of a heavy cyberattack on the digital infrastructure of the Government of the Republic of Albania in an attempt to destroy it, paralyse public services, and hack data and electronic communications from government systems.

Attack, according to Edi Rama, was a state-sponsored aggression. The extensive investigation revealed that the cyberattack was sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran through the involvement of four groups that carried out the aggression.

One of the groups involved in the attack is a well-known international cyber-terrorist group that has been a perpetrator or co-perpetrator of previous cyberattacks against Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, and Cyprus.

Albania has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, effective immediately. An official notice of the decision was sent to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Embassy, requesting that all diplomatic, technical, administrative, and security personnel leave the Republic of Albania’s territory within 24 hours.

The US has strongly condemned Iran’s cyberattack on Albania, a NATO ally. The US has stated that it will take additional steps to hold Iran accountable for actions that endanger the security of a US ally and set a dangerous precedent for cyberspace.

For weeks, the US government has been on the ground in Albania, working alongside private sector partners to support the country’s efforts to mitigate, recover from, and investigate the July 15 cyberattack that destroyed government data and disrupted public services.

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