The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and its minister, accusing them of being tied to a disruptive July cyberattack on Albania and engaging in other cyber activities against the United States and its allies.
The move comes after Albania severed diplomatic relations with Iran on Wednesday for the same incident, ordering Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave within 24 hours.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the Iranian ministry directs several networks of cyberthreat actors, including those involved in cyberespionage and ransomware attacks.
“Iran’s cyberattack against Albania disregards norms of responsible peacetime state behavior in cyberspace, which includes a norm on refraining from damaging critical infrastructure that provides services to the public,” said Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson.
Albania on September 7 ordered Iranian officials out of the country and severed diplomatic relations with Tehran following an investigation into the cyberattack.
Tirana described “irrefutable” evidence that Tehran had backed “the act of serious cyberattack against the digital infrastructure of the government of the Republic of Albania.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied Tehran was behind any cyberattack on Albanian government websites.
/Argumentum.al
