Hackers attacked websites of Albania’s government, just a few months after bringing most Albanian public sector services to an online portal.
According to a government’s statement (through a local news outlet), its websites fell victims of a “synchronized and sophisticated cybercriminal attack from outside Albania.” That is why online public services were temporarily shut down.
Network data analyzed by NetBlocks – a service that tracks internet outages around the world – showed that affected websites were indeed shut down in order to prevent damage from a targeted threat rather than due to a DDoS attack.
As per NetBlocks, government portal went offline last Saturday, around 9 pm local time.
The government asked Microsoft along with cybersecurity consulting company Jones International Group and a few local security companies for help in prevention of a compromise of state information systems.
The hacking group behind the cyberattack is yet to be determined.
In May 2022, the government of Albania eliminated a bunch of in-person administrative offices and moved public services to an online portal. The goal was to make public services more efficient and less prone to corruption.