Albania blames Iran for second cyberattack since July

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Title: Albania blames Iran for second cyberattack since July | • Politics| • |Politics • 11000000|

The Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Iran’s spy agency for allegedly carrying out the July hack, which knocked some Albanian government services offline and left the Albanian government scrambling to recover. The White House said US officials were on the ground for weeks helping. Albania severed diplomatic relations with Iran in what may be the first case of hacking prompting a break in ties between countries.

The July hack took place before a conference in Albania due to be attended by members of MEK, an Iranian group that advocates the overthrow of the Iranian government and that Tehran considers a terrorist organization.

“We strongly condemn such malicious cyber activities designed to destabilize and harm the security of an Ally, and disrupt the daily lives of citizens,” NATO members in a statement Thursday.

In response, Iran’s embassy in Brussels on Friday “rejected the baseless accusations” that Iran was behind the July hack.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday on the latest hacking incident.

CNN has requested comment from the White House National Security Council.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said a cyberattack could trigger NATO’s collective defense clause, requiring all members to defend an attack on another member. But that principle has never been tested in practice, and it’s unclear what the threshold for such a collective defense is.

“Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true [that Iran was behind the latest hack],” John Hultquist, vice president of intelligence analysis at security firm Mandiant, which investigated the July hack, told CNN. “States like Iran don’t seem to be deterred by diplomatic solutions. It’s as if the price of these incidents is ultimately acceptable to them.”

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