According to a report from the Albanian National Agency for the Information Society, a cyberattack from an anonymous source led the Albanian government to shut down the websites of the prime minister's office and the parliament.
Most Albanian nationals and tourists from other countries utilize the e-Albania website, which currently acts as a hub for several formerly operational civil state offices.
According to the Albanian National Agency for the Information Society (AKSHI), "we have been compelled to shut down government systems to survive these unprecedented and dangerous strikes until the enemy attacks are neutralized."
Only a few crucial services, like online tax filing, are still operating since they are provided by servers that were not targeted in the attack, while the majority of desk services for the public were disrupted.
Both the duration of the government systems' downtime and the identity of the cyberattack's perpetrator are unknown. According to Albanian media, the attack was comparable to those targeting critical systems in Ukraine, Belgium, Malta, Netherland, Germany, Lithuania, and Belgium.
While there have been instances of 'independent hacker groups' attacking countries in the past, Oliver Pinson-Roxburgh, CEO of cybersecurity platform Defense.com, said it is unlikely that such a group would be able to operate on this scale.
The report states that due to the early detection, the government's essential systems were able to shut down safely and they are all "backed-up and safe."
It said that to resolve the issue and 'restore normalcy,' Albanian officials were working with Microsoft and Jones Group International experts.
