TIRANA, Feb 1 /ATA/ – Albania’s National Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, reported Thursday that its systems were hit by a sophisticated cyberattack a day ago, but data on the most recent population and housing census was not affected.
INSTAT said in a press statement that the Institute responded swiftly and professionally to prevent and minimize the potential damages from the sophisticated attack by immediately shutting down the internet links and activating emergency protocols to protect data and statistical information.
“The initial examinations by the IT experts show that some of the INSTAT systems have been affected by the cyberattack. The immediate INSTAT response involves assistance by national cybersecurity experts, who are joining forces to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack. The investigation aims at determining main causes, the extension of damages and the solutions to effectively tackle future threats,” INSTAT said in its statement.
INSTAT assured the public that the recent census data were not the target of this attack, as they are saved in other dedicated safe systems.
“INSTAT is cooperating with authorities to identify the source and motives of the cyberattack, resume normal functioning and strengthen cybersecurity,” the statement reads.
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