Elisabeta Katiaj has one of the main accounting offices in Tirana, which maintains the balance sheets and financial statements of some of the largest domestic and foreign companies. Since last Saturday, almost no services for businesses are online. This is due to a cyber-attack, which brought down the official websites of the ministries, main institutions and the e-Albania platform. There are about 1,200 services that citizens and businesses have not been able to access for a week, since May 1st of this year, they are only online. Small and medium-sized businesses, who are waiting for invoices for the sales they make, have the same concern. Calculating throughput becomes difficult. These businesses cannot receive invoices and therefore payments cannot be made. This translates into liquidity problems for them.
"The system had problems even before the attack. There are cases that are rejected, there are cases that are delayed. There are many problems that come as a result of the operation of the system itself, that businesses have encountered since the beginning of the digitalization period until today. So, a one-day, several-day, or a week suspension is understandable, as it can be afforded for a short period of time. But what poses a problem is the invoicing system, which is related to real-time transmission of the bill and fiscalization. These cases are foreseen by legal provision, but the business has unknowns", says Katiaj.
Meanwhile, official sources in the General Directorate of Taxes explain that during this week there were no complaints reported by taxpayers regarding the duplication of invoices. But the sources explain that as a normal procedure, in case of duplicate invoices, for various reasons, taxpayers should cancel the duplicate invoices keeping only the correct invoice, which should also be included in the total reported turnover.
An even greater concern is that of submitting balances, in conditions where the legal deadline is July 31. The submission of balances is done only electronically and if the date specified in the legal framework is not respected, then the entity is fined 60,000 ALL. There are not a few, but almost 20,000 entities that have the legal obligation to submit annual balances. Official sources from the Ministry of Finance inform that the deadline for submitting balance sheets will be postponed and no fine will be applied to businesses.
However, a week after the cyber-attack, the situation has not yet returned to normal. e-Albania is not fully functional, while the Self Care system still does not work, customs declarations are not taxed either. The tax page is working. Businesses can also carry out the fiscalization of invoices, except for the self-employed who work with the Self Care system (free of charge), which is connected to e-Albania. The Self Care system continues to be non-functional even after the return to work of e-Albania. Businesses complain that they still can't even do the fiscalization of customs declarations. An application can be made for the renewal of electronic certificates, but they cannot be received.
Experts: Investments are needed to increase the security of the system
Information Technology experts explain that after the transition of 95% of public services to digital, Albania has become the target of cyber-attacks, such as the one that the system suffered since last Saturday. This means that other attacks are expected to occur in the future. "Since Albania has moved everything online, it becomes a global target for cyber-attacks because the value of the capital it has online increases and consequently, hackers in the world and enemy countries will make it a target," says Gent Progni, expert on Information Technology. According to him, there is currently no risk of data loss. "From all the information, it turns out that the data was backed up, plus the attack was caught in time. Therefore, this part has been saved", explains Progni.
The IT expert recommends that more investments be made to increase system security. "This attack showed that we need to invest more in cyber security and be better prepared. In information technology you are always exposed. You can never say you are 100% sure. The only total security is if you remove the Internet line in the external connections and keep a closed local network. It has been proven in technological studies that the only technology that can withstand these attacks is Blockchain. Therefore, the transition of services from the government to Blockchain would be one of the best and ideal solutions", says Progni.
This is the first cyber-attack on the system since 95% of public services went online and has caused dissatisfaction among citizens and businesses. At the same time, it has reduced trust in the government and digitalization of services. This is the reason that IT experts recommend that, in parallel with the electronic system, some services are also offered at physical counters, as an additional alternative. "I think there should always be an emergency plan and physical counters should be opened, but always in an emergency plan," says Gent Progni, IT expert.
The cyber-attack of a week ago, most likely, according to what the experts warn, will not be the last. An attack that showed that there is a need not only for more investments in increasing security, but also in a better coordination and information of citizens and business, as the main beneficiaries of electronic services. Those who today still don't know what to do!
This article was produced under ICEDA project, co-financed by the European Union and implemented by Metamorphosis Foundation (North Macedonia), e-Governance Academy (Estonia), Partners Serbia (Serbia), NGO 35mm (Montenegro), Open Data Kosovo (Kosovo) and MJAFT! Movement (Albania).
This article was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of MJAFT! Movement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.