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The National Cybersecurity Authority declares that it will use DPI technology to completely block TikTok, but technology experts raise the alarm that the unlawful use of this technology could pave the way for the violation of the privacy and personal data of Albanian citizens.
For several days, the community of technology experts in Albania has raised the alarm about the dangers of using devices known as "Deep Packet Inspection", DPI, in support of the Albanian government's decision to block the social network TikTok for a period of 1 year.
The National Cyber Security Authority claims that DPI is a technology that will help them completely shut down TikTok, but technology experts point out that this could violate the privacy and personal data of Albanians.
Besmir Semanaj, a security and technology expert, told BIRN that implementing this technology without any legal basis risks paving the way for the violation of the digital rights of Albanian citizens. He also noted that DPI was currently being used for censorship or surveillance by dictatorial or autocratic regimes.
“If they decide to apply such technology, it would be good to have a legal basis,” Semanaj said, referring to the Albanian government and authorities responsible for cybersecurity.
“…we have other countries like Iran and Turkey that use these devices for censorship,” he added, emphasizing that a legal basis is necessary to prevent such misuse.
"Deep Packet Inspection" is an advanced technology that monitors and filters the activity of internet users in detail, further enabling the restriction or blocking of certain pages or links.
The National Cyber Security Authority, AKSK, dismissed the concerns in a written response to BIRN, stressing that the purpose of using DPI was related to the implementation of the Council of Ministers' decision to close TikTok.
AKSK further explained that the use of DPIs was part of the measures taken in cooperation with the Electronic Communications Authority to temporarily interrupt TikTok access, including the establishment of a technical group to track DNS, SNI, and IP addresses that use the TikTok platform.
But unlike experts, the Authority claims that DPI technology does not process personal data, but rather identifies the applications being used and serves for cyber protection.
"Deep Packet Inspection can be considered like a postal official who cannot open a sealed letter, but looks at the envelope, size, destination and frequency of the delivery and based on this, can make decisions or perform analysis," AKSK described the role of the DPI technology it is planning to implement to block TikTok.
“This technology can understand which application you are using (e.g., TikTok), and can block certain types of traffic, for example a specific platform, volumetric attacks (DDoS), threat attacks (malware, ransomware), phishing campaigns, etc.,” the Authority added.
According to AKSK, the DPI platform installed in internet service providers is in compliance with information security standards and the European data protection regulation, GDPR.
But Semanaj stressed that GDPR compliance has not been made clear.
“European countries that use this technology have precise specifications, according to the GDPR law for the protection of personal data, on how it will be used, by whom and for how long, but in Albania there is no legal basis,” he concluded. / BIRN
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