'Iranian Cyberattack' Exposed Britain's Secret Talks With Albania on Illegal Migrants: Report

Earlier this month, Tirana severed diplomatic relations with Tehran after accusing Iran of trying to launch a cyberattack against Albania's online public services portal. Tehran rejected the accusations as “baseless.”

A purported Iranian cyberattack on Albania’s IT systems earlier in September exposed secret negotiations between Tirana and London on measures to tackle organized crime and illegal immigration in and out of the Balkan nation, according to the The Telegraph.

The newspaper reported that the “sensitive” UK government documents were ostensibly compromised by Iranian hackers and leaked onto the encrypted Telegram channel over the weekend.

The documents reportedly include the February 2022 email correspondence between Albania’s then-director of police Gledis Nano and UK ambassador to Albania Alastair King-Smith.

In one email, the Albanian police chief thanks King-Smith for his help, adding that they “indeed need” his support “now and in the future” for the Tirana-London “joint efforts against organized crime.”

A memo, revealed in the email, mentions the UK Border Force’s proposal to send its officers to Albania in order to advise on security measures that could be taken to combat illegal immigration and the import of cocaine into Europe by organized crime gangs in the Balkan state.

According to the memo, the Border Force role will focus on the Albanian ports of Durres and Porto Romano to “assess the container traffic, Ro/Ro, passengers, port and law enforcement IT systems, and the current operational capabilities that exist within the port.”

It follows Albania’s parliament agreeing on a memorandum last week to share criminal and biometric data on Albanian migrants crossing the English Channel illegally with UK law enforcement agencies. The Albanian migrants currently account for up to 60 percent of all small boat arrivals in Britain.

In a separate development earlier this month, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama ordered all Iranian diplomats and Embassy staff to leave the country in 24 hours after breaking off relations over an alleged attempted cyberattack plot by Tehran.

Rama charged Iran with trying to “paralyze public services, erase digital systems and hack into state records, steal government intranet electronic communication, and stir chaos and insecurity in the country.”

“The attack failed, and the damage can be regarded as small, and in coordination with specialized agencies, it was proved that the cyberattack was carried out by Iran, which financed four different groups to attack Albania,” the PM added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in turn called Tirana’s decision to break off the Albania-Iran ties “injudicious” and said that the “cyberattack” claims were “baseless” and “unsubstantiated.”