Infectious diseases and the lack of infrastructure to protect against cyber attacks are the two main fears of Albanian executives, according to the latest report of the Global Economic Forum, “Global Risks Report 2023.”
The third concern is the rapid rise in inflation, followed by geopolitical matters, the raw materials crisis and food supply problems.
The study, a co-production of consultants Marsh McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, took into account the views of more than 1,200 global risk experts, policymakers and industry leaders.
Last year, the main concerns were political issues, human impact on the environment, cyber security risks, the debt crisis and COVID-19.
The concerns raised by the Albanian leaders in the 2023 report are also different from the global ones, where the energy supply crisis is number one, followed by the cost of living inflation, food supply and cyber attacks.
“Conflict and geo-economic tensions have caused a series of interconnected global risks.
These include energy and food supply difficulties, which are likely to continue for the next two years, accompanied by significant increases in the cost of living and debt servicing,” the report notes.
The report also states that “crises risk undermining efforts to address long-term risks, particularly those related to climate change, biodiversity and investment in human capital.”
The report described the cost of living crisis as the “biggest near-term risk” to 2025, followed by natural disasters, extreme weather events and a “geo-economic crash”.
The report urges “leaders to act collectively and decisively, balancing short-term and long-term views.”
The fear of cyber attacks is well founded, as in 2022, the Albanian government was subject to multiple attacks, which brought key systems and institutions, including border control and the civil registry, to a standstill.
The systems were brought offline, and critical information was siphoned off and released into the public domain periodically by a group called Homeland Justice, which has been traced back to Iran by the US government and Microsoft, who assisted Albania during the attacks.
Albania cuts diplomatic ties with Iran over cyberattacks
Albania has frozen all diplomatic ties with Iran and asked diplomats to leave the country by Thursday (8 September) over a series of cyber-attacks, including one this summer that brought all government services to a standstill.
The incident led to Iranian diplomats being expelled from the country and a raft of sanctions against those purportedly behind the attack in Tehran.
Additionally, in 2021, swathes of voters’ personal information, including salaries, addresses, car registrations, and ID card numbers, were leaked from government institutions, allegedly by employees, and then published in the media.
This has created a situation of distrust in Albanian society, particularly when it comes to digital information.
Hackers continue to leak data from Albanian intelligence services
Data on employees and suspects of Albanian intelligence services have been published by Iranian hackers in the latest leak since government systems were breached in July, leading to the severing of diplomatic relations with Tehran.
The cyber attack took place …
Source: euractiv.com
