Iranian Hackers Target Tirana Municipality Website, Services Disrupted

A cyberattack today took down the official website of the Tirana Municipality. The hacker group "Homeland Justice," believed to be linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a message posted on Telegram, the group said the cyberattack was in retaliation for Albania's support of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), which has been based in Manzë, Durrës since 2013.

Shortly after the attack, Albania’s National Cyber Security Authority (AKSK) confirmed the incident and said that multiple services and applications run by the Tirana Municipality were affected.

According to AKSK, a special task force has been formed—including cybersecurity experts and the State Police—to contain the damage, investigate how the attack happened, and restore services. The team is working closely with the municipality’s technical staff to identify weak points, isolate the affected systems, and prevent the attack from spreading further.

Preliminary analysis shows that the attack disrupted the normal operation of several digital services provided by the city. While no detailed timeline has been given, authorities say they are working quickly to bring the systems back online and prevent similar incidents in the future.

AKSK strongly condemned the attack, calling it a violation of Albania's critical digital infrastructure. They also reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the integrity, security, and availability of the country’s information systems.