UK condemns Iran for cyberattack on Albania

Police officers walk in front of the Iranian embassy in Tirana, Albania on September 7, 2022. (AFP)
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Updated 07 September 2022
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UK condemns Iran for cyberattack on Albania

  • “Iran’s reckless actions showed a blatant disregard for the Albanian people”: British foreign secretary
  • “We join Albania and other allies in exposing Iran’s unacceptable actions,” Cleverly said

LONDON: The UK condemned Iran on Wednesday for a cyberattack against Albania’s government that destroyed data and disrupted essential government services, including booking medical appointments and enrolling schoolchildren.

“Iran’s reckless actions showed a blatant disregard for the Albanian people, severely restricting their ability to access essential public services,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

“The UK is supporting our valuable partner and NATO ally. We join Albania and other allies in exposing Iran’s unacceptable actions,” the minister added.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Center said that Iranian state-linked cyber actors are almost certainly responsible for the series of cyberattacks against Albanian government infrastructure from July 15 which caused significant impact to online public services and other government websites.

The websites of the Albanian parliament and the prime minister’s office, as well as a portal that Albanians use to access a number of public services, were attacked and subject to a shut down. The attackers also leaked Albanian government data, including details of emails from Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


Bangladesh summons Myanmar envoy after border clashes

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Bangladesh summons Myanmar envoy after border clashes

  • A dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned the ambassador of Myanmar after civil war gun battles in the neighboring country spilled over the border, wounding a Bangladeshi girl.

Heavy fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state this month has involved junta soldiers, Arakan Army fighters and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militia guerrillas.

Authorities said around a dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence.

Twelve-year-old Huzaifa Afnan was struck by a bullet, while a Bangladeshi fisherman had his leg ripped off after stepping on a landmine near the frontier.

“Bangladesh reminded that the unprovoked firing towards Bangladesh is a blatant violation of international law and a hindrance to good neighborly relations,” a Foreign Ministry press statement said.

Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, U Kyaw Soe Moe, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, where he expressed sincere sympathy to the injured victims and their families.

“My daughter was supposed to go to school, but she is on a ventilator,” Afnan’s father Jasim Uddin said. “My heart is bleeding for my baby girl.”

More than a million Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar, many after a 2017 military crackdown, and now eke out a living in sprawling refugee camps just across the border in Bangladesh.

ARSA, a Rohingya armed group formed to defend the persecuted Muslim minority, has been fighting the Myanmar military, as well as rival Arakan Army guerrillas.

On Monday, Bangladeshi border forces detained 53 ARSA fighters who had crossed the frontier.

Bangladeshi police officer Saiful Islam, commander of the local Teknaf station, said all detainees were being held in jail, except one fighter who was receiving hospital treatment for bullet wounds.

“These individuals have a history of living in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and crossing into Myanmar,” Islam told AFP.