Information security, especially in the media sector, is not just a technical issue, but an important part of state security, Orkhan Mammadov, a member of the Global Media Group board of directors, said at a public debate themed “Cyberattacks on Azerbaijani media resources” held by the temporary commission on countering foreign interference and hybrid threats in parliament, Report informs.
Mammadov recalled that at around 10 am on February 20 this year, a serious and large-scale cyberattack was carried out against Global Media Group:
"The attack initially targeted Baku TV's internal servers, then spread to the country's leading news portals such as report.az, oxu.az, baku.ws, caliber.az, and media.az.
As a result of the prompt intervention of our IT team and the relevant agencies invited, the spread of the virus was stopped. However, unfortunately, there was a loss of data on some servers and the operation of the sites was disrupted, albeit for a short time."
The board member added that at that time, the servers had advanced, internationally recognized security systems recommended by experts:
“Nevertheless, the hackers were able to overcome the defense barrier using very high-level and little-known methods. This once again showed that the level of preparation of the opposing side was unusually strong.”
According to him, as part of the measures taken, a decision was made to move the sites to a better-protected data center and completely rebuild the server infrastructure:
“In parallel, permanent cooperation with international cybersecurity companies was initiated and network equipment was updated. This incident once again proved that information security, especially in the media sector, is not just a technical issue, but an important part of state security. Regular investment and preventive measures are necessary in this regard.”
