US firm: Likely Iranian threat actor in Albania cyberattack

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A U.S. security firm says a cyberattack that temporarily shut down some Albanian government digital services and websites in mid-July was likely the work of pro-Iranian hackers seeking to disrupt an Iranian opposition group’s conference in Albania. In a report Thursday, Mandiant expressed “moderate confidence” the attackers were acting in support of Tehran’s anti-dissident efforts based on several factors: The timing, the content of a social media channel used to claim responsibility, and similarities in software code used with malware long used to target Farsi and Arabic speakers. Albania belongs to NATO, and Mandiant says the threat actor poses an active threat to public and private organizations in other alliance members as well.