The official website of the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), which was hacked by Iranian hackers, has been restored to full functionality.

Iranian hacker group Homeland Justice attacked the INSTAT website on January 31, after which the website was no longer accessible to citizens.

INSTAT announced on January 31 that its computer systems were the target of a sophisticated cyberattack, so it responded quickly and professionally to prevent and minimize possible damage from the attack.

INSTAT immediately disconnected internet connections and activated emergency protocols to ensure the protection of data and statistical information.

Also, INSTAT assured the public that Census data was not the target of this attack, as it is stored in other systems dedicated solely for this purpose.

According to previous media statements of INSTAT’s director, census data is expected to be published in June this year.

This is not the first time Homeland Justice has attacked Albanian institutions.

On December 25, even the Parliament of Albania admitted that it had been attacked, and there had been an attempt to breach infrastructure in order to delete data. On the same day, the group also claimed to have attacked a cellular company operating in Albania.