Albania has severed diplomatic relations with Iran over a major cyberattack carried out nearly two months ago, allegedly by Tehran, against Albanian government websites, the country's Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Wednesday.
All the staff of the Iranian embassy in Tirana, the Albanian capital, including diplomatic and security personnel, have been ordered to leave the country within 24 hours through an official note.
The move by NATO country Albania is the first known case of a country severing diplomatic relations due to a cyber attack.
On July 15, a cyberattack temporarily took down numerous digital services and websites of the Albanian government. Rama said an investigation determined the blockade was not carried out by independent individuals or groups, calling it "state aggression."
"The deep investigation made available to us undeniable evidence that the cyber attack against our country was orchestrated and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, which had engaged four groups for the attack on Albania," Rama said in a video statement.
The claim of 'HomeLand Justice', the group behind the cyberattack, occurred on a Telegram channel in which documents that appeared to be residence permits in Albania for members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, better known as MEK, were published. , along with a video of the ransomware activation. The channel also alleged corruption in the Albanian government.
Albania, a NATO member since 2009, hosts some 3,000 Iranian MEK dissidents who live in the Ashraf 3 camp in Manëz, located 30 kilometers west of Tirana.
Following the blockade, the Albanian government said the hackers' methods were identical to last year's attacks on other NATO countries, including Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Rama now accuses Tehran of recruiting one of the most notorious international cyberattack groups that has been involved in similar attacks on Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait and Cyprus.
Mandiant, one of the leading US cybersecurity firms, last month expressed "moderate confidence" that the attackers were acting in support of Tehran against dissidents.
For its part, the Biden administration has expressed support for Albania's move to cut ties with Tehran. "The United States will take further steps to hold Iran accountable for actions that threaten the security of a United States ally and set a worrying precedent for cyberspace," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
