Cyberattacks against Azerbaijan continue without interruption and become particularly intense during periods of military confrontation and tension, Nadir Novruzov, department head at the State Service of Special Communication and Information Security, said during a panel discussion held as part of ADEX 2026 – the 6th Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition.
According to Report, Novruzov said cyberattacks were observed on a daily basis and increased significantly during military operations.
"Particularly during wartime, for example, on the eve of the 44-Day War, more than 3,000 cyberattacks were recorded by the State Service of Special Communication and Information Security, and we prevented them. This continued in the same way during other military operations. Cyberattacks continued during the Tovuz operations, the April battles and later during the antiterror operations," he said.
Novruzov said one of the main tasks in cybersecurity was not only to prevent existing attacks, but also to prepare in advance for threats created by new technologies.
According to him, the rapid development of artificial intelligence is creating new cybersecurity challenges, as AI can be used both for defensive purposes and to expand offensive capabilities.
"It is important to meet the requirements of the modern era. These requirements have accelerated further with the development of artificial intelligence technologies. If defenders can use artificial intelligence to organize their work, it also becomes an additional tool for attackers," he said.
Novruzov noted that while large-scale cyberattacks previously required greater resources and larger groups and took considerable time to prepare, artificial intelligence can significantly accelerate parts of that process.
"In the past, large groups were needed to carry out major cyberattacks, and preparations took a long time. Now, with artificial intelligence, one person can carry out cyberattacks capable of producing major results in a short period of time," he said.
He added that alongside technological capabilities, cybersecurity specialists must continuously update their knowledge and skills to counter emerging threats.
"We cannot respond to tomorrow's threats with yesterday's tools, so we must improve ourselves. The path to improvement begins, first of all, with knowledge sharing. We can carry out this knowledge sharing only through cooperation," Novruzov said.
According to him, expanding cooperation among government agencies, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders is important for identifying new threats more quickly and taking joint measures against them.
"For this reason, we can establish cooperation with one another both within the Azerbaijan Cybersecurity Organizations Association (AKTA) and through sectoral meetings," he added.