TIRANA, Nov 13 /ATA/ – Albania’s government has approved amendments to the country’s cybersecurity law, introducing new obligations for public institutions and operators of critical information infrastructure, alongside tougher penalties for non-compliance.
Under the amendments, operators will be required to submit declarations to the National Cyber Security Authority (AKSK) detailing the technical, organisational and operational measures they have taken to protect their systems, as well as information on how their networks and infrastructure are hosted and managed.
Failure to submit the required information on time will carry fines ranging from 500,000 to 2 million leks, while providing inaccurate or incomplete data will be punishable by fines of up to 1 million leks. Penalties for other violations can reach 10 million leks.
The changes also strengthen cybersecurity incident response by requiring operators to report incidents to national and sectoral Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) and cooperate in information sharing and response efforts.
The AKSK will also be authorised to conduct simulations on critical infrastructure networks and systems, while a new Cyber Intelligence Cooperation Group will be established to assess cyber threats and their potential impact on national security, the economy and public services.
The draft law further requires certain critical infrastructure operators to use cybersecurity-certified information and communications technology products and services, while extending high-criticality classification to local government bodies.
The AKSK will also coordinate specialised cybersecurity training for state infrastructure operators where such training is not available through domestic public institutions.
The amendments will enter into force 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette.
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