ONE Albania, the second largest telco in the country, and the Parliament of Albania both endured cyber attacks on Christmas Day. A statement by Albania’s National Authority for Electronic Certification and Cyber Security (AKCESK) provided no information about the attacks except that they did not originate at an Albanian IP address. AKCESK were likely hinting at the need for revised laws when they observed that neither organization was on a list of the country’s most sensitive institutions. The motives of the attackers were not discussed.
ONE Albania reassured customers through a post to their official Facebook account. They said none of their services had been affected and all had continued as normal throughout the day. The short post then concluded with a promise to maintain transparency. ONE Albania’s services include mobile, fixed-line and IPTV.
Perhaps cyber attacks on telcos should no longer be considered news because they occur so frequently. This incident shows that telcos run by the private sector rank alongside government targets in the minds of malicious actors who want to cause disruption. Governments are sometimes tempted to shift important burdens on to the shoulders of telcos but a more cooperative approach is needed to maintain national security.
