Josifi: Albania targeted by cyberattacks from Iran, but we remain constantly on alert

Kristian Josifi, an expert in the Cyber Incident Research Department of the National Cybersecurity Authority, told Kosovo Online that Albania is being targeted by cyberattacks from Iran, but that the relevant authorities remain constantly on alert.

“The situation in Albania is well known. We are under threat from cyberattacks by the Iranian state. It is well known that data uploaded to the internet is always exposed to cyberattacks. Recently, there have been numerous attempts to launch cyberattacks against these institutions, as well as other institutions. There has been an increase in smishing and phishing attacks targeting various individuals, including those working in these institutions,” Josifi said.

He added that it was encouraging that the National Cybersecurity Agency was always on alert and operated around the clock, seven days a week, monitoring the situation in shifts.

“We monitor ongoing activities and keep critical and important infrastructure under surveillance. The next step is the work of the Analysis Directorate, which, if an incident occurs and the situation escalates, conducts a more detailed investigation to determine whether it is a cyberattack. The main reason for increasing vigilance, improving skills and training cybersecurity experts was the attack in 2022. That was our starting point, because it was then that we realized how closely the IT profession is connected to cybersecurity,” he explained.

Speaking about the development of digitalization in Albania, Josifi said that the main system used by citizens and institutions was e-Albania.

“We have made progress in converting physical documents into digital format. Despite the fact that most documentation has been digitized, physical copies of documents have also been preserved, because you never know what consequences cyberattacks might have. The idea is to keep pace with technological progress. Time will bring modernization, and very soon we will have 100 percent of our documentation in digital systems, which will also make our lives easier by automating various processes,” the expert said.

In his opinion, Albanian society has not yet become sufficiently accustomed to digitalization.

“The problem is older people, because it is more difficult for them. First, people need to understand how the system works before they can use it. We are trying to make digital systems as accessible and user-friendly as possible so that people can interact with them,” Josifi concluded.