Cyberattacks are increasingly endangering regions such as the Western Balkans, Europe and broader global areas following the Russian attack on Ukraine, according to a former American general who heads a cyber security company contracted by the Albanian government.
James Jones was invited to parliament on Monday, days after a sophisticated cyber attack crippled online government infrastructure bringing all digital services and government websites offline.
“NATO member countries must increase efforts in the face of cyber threats as well as cooperation between intelligence agencies, which is nowhere more urgent than in this region,” he said.
He emphasized that deeper cooperation of intelligence services between NATO member countries is nowhere else more urgent than in the Western Balkans, particularly amid threats posed by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
“The unprovoked Russian attack against Ukraine demonstrated the value of real-time cooperation. “This war is a lesson in the multiple benefits of intelligence agency cooperation for all NATO allies and non-member friends,” he added.
In discussion with Albanian legislators, the head of Jones Group said that cyber-attacks constitute a real risk to the normal functioning of democratic societies for economic stability and the continuity of free businesses worldwide.
The American authorities, he emphasized, have provided a network of cooperation in the face of cyber incidents to narrow the spaces for cybercriminals, which requires permanent vigilance and continuous infrastructural measures in the region.
The Rama government and Jones Group signed an agreement on January of this year to strengthen the security of digital systems.
The announcement of the cooperation came just days after the personal data of nearly 690,000 people were leaked from state and private databases, including names and car registration numbers.
During the 2021 election campaign, databases, including the personal data of every voter in Tirana, were leaked. The data, up to date and believed to be from a government institution, was for the use of the Socialist Party and included notes taken by “patrons” or spies on people’s believed voting preference.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Lindita Nikolla, said that the EU is further increasing its attention to the Western Balkans, also in terms of security issues, while non-Western influences feed nationalism and conflicts in the region.
“The integration of the countries of the Western Balkans into NATO has not gone parallel to the membership in the European Union. This affects security issues because it allows space for non-western influences in the region”, said Nikolla.
