Ilgar Musayev: 'In many cases, the directions of organizing cyber attacks on Azerbaijan point to our neighbors'

Head of the Special Communication and Information Security State Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Coordination Commission on Information Security, Lieutenant General Ilgar Musayev, gave an interview to Report News Agency.

During the interview, he shared his views on the work done in the field of information security and the fight against cybercrime in Azerbaijan and its cooperation with other countries in this field.

Report presents that interview:

- First of all, please provide brief information about the work done by the Special Communications and Information Security State Service in Azerbaijan's cyber security field.

- As you know, one of the main activities of our Service is the detection of information security gaps in state information resources and systems and conduction of analyses of cyber-attacks against state institutions through audits on stability tests in order to strengthen the information security of state institutions.

Following the conducted analyses, gaps, and new cyber threat trends, our Service constantly takes preventive measures in the AzStateNet network, using the latest generation protection equipment to prevent millions of malicious links to the information networks of state institutions, cyber-attacks, and malware e-mails. Information and quarterly and annual bulletins about the statistical indicators of the listed works are regularly posted on our official website.

- As Azerbaijan's influence in the region and the world boosts, we are witnessing increased cyber attacks against our country. From which directions have more attacks been recorded in recent years?

- After Azerbaijan's victory in the 44-day-long Second Karabakh War and contributions to Europe's energy security, its influence has increased sharply in the region and the world. Countries that cannot accept this are trying to create certain problems against our government in the field of information security as well as in other areas.

In this regard, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, while answering the questions of experts at the international conference under the motto 'Along the Middle Corridor: Geopolitics, Security and Economy' at ADA University last year, said: "We will make a choice based again on the best practice, the best technology, and the best protection. We need to take care of cybersecurity because we see that more and more countries become very vulnerable with respect to cyberattacks, even the countries with much more sophisticated technologies. Therefore, of course, we will seriously deal with this issue."

- During and after the 44-day Patriotic War, cyber attacks on Azerbaijan from foreign countries, especially Iran and Armenia, increased. What types of attacks have been recorded from these directions in recent years, and what actions have been taken to prevent them?

- The Cyber Center operating as part of our Service fights hundreds of cyber attacks daily, whether in wartime or peacetime, analyzes them, and takes measures to prevent them from being transmitted to state institutions. You know that the direction of cyber attacks can be manipulated. Still, when looking at the motive, the main purpose and directions of organizing these attacks, in many cases, point to our neighbors.

In general, there is an increase in the number of cyber attacks. Recently, the most common cyber attacks include targeted APT, DDoS attacks, which start with phishing attacks. Several blockings are carried out to combat such cyber-attacks based on the information obtained from our monitoring and cyber-intelligence platforms. For example, in 2022, 48 domain names similar to the 'gov.az' domain created by hackers to use the name of state institutions were identified, and cyber attack attempts were prevented in the planning stage by blocking them across the country. At the same time, as a result of the analyzes conducted, 1,192 specific cyber attack indicators were blocked during the year, and hundreds of cyber attacks against state institutions were prevented.

In addition, over 2 million malicious and phishing e-mails sent to state institutions during the year were blocked and prevented from being delivered to state institutions.

- The competition between world powers (USA, China, Russia) has led to the launch of investigations into some brands (Kaspersky, Huawei, etc.). Azerbaijan also partners with many of these IT brands whose names have been added to blacklists. What are your recommendations for security in this regard?

- As you know, the Special Communication and Information Security State Service provides special state communication, government communication, special purpose information-telecommunication services, connection to the Internet network of state institutions, and other services to state institutions and ensures the information security of the networks of those institutions.

When implementing new technologies, proposals are prepared for application after examining all aspects of that equipment: modernity, stability, production and technical service capabilities, and integration with existing network equipment. When decisions are made according to the results of such investigations, appropriate decisions are made, considering the circumstances you have mentioned. In addition, similar topics and risks related to using vendors' equipment in critical infrastructures are regularly discussed in the Coordination Commission on Information Security and necessary recommendations are sent to the relevant infrastructures.

- As part of the reforms carried out in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in recent months, the Special Communications and Information Security State Service has been carrying out a number of activities. Please inform us about the current and planned issues.

- In order to strengthen the information security of the state institutions in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, we are continuing the work in the direction of establishing the AzStateNet Data, Internet and Voice networks in Nakhchivan and strengthening the security of the state institutions by connecting to this network, and at the same time transferring the state information resources to the 'gov.az' zone.

Currently, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic office of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Social Protection Fund of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, the State Border Service, Prosecutor's Office, Nakhchivan Head Office of the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan are connected to the AzstateNet Data, Internet and Voice networks.

At the same time, six state information resources of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic have been transferred to the 'gov.az' zone, and audit inspections of 5 information resources on information securitycontinue. In general, these works are planned to be completed within six months.

- The process of establishing "Smart Village" and "Smart City" in the liberated areas upon order of the President of Azerbaijan is underway. This, of course, makes safety important. What works are currently being carried out in this direction?

- Our most challenging work for the organization of reliable communication in the liberated areas was laying optical cable lines in several directions, which pass through mined areas, with the help of relevant agencies. The AzStateNet network has been established in the cities of Zangilan, Gubadli, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Lachin, Kalbajar, Shusha, and in the territory of Aghali village, and the information security of the state institutions operating in those areas has been ensured. Our Service is taking measures for the organization of reliable services in accordance with the needs of newly established institutions in this region.

- There are opinions about the need for more qualified personnel in the field of cyber security in Azerbaijan. As someone with considerable experience in the education sector, what would you recommend about bridging this gap?

- National personnel training and reserve in the field is important for our Service. For this purpose, a management-level meeting was held at Azerbaijan Technical University in 2022, ideas were exchanged for our support for personnel training, and a Memorandum on mutual cooperation in the field of information security was signed. Along with this, a meeting was organized at the Institute of Information Technology of ANAS, and directions for cooperation were discussed. Business relations have been established with other higher education institutions that prepare personnel in this field, the work is ongoing.

In order to increase the qualification levels of employees working in the Service, special courses are organized for them, they are sent to foreign countries for distant or short-term direct participation to obtain the necessary certificates. In addition, there was a corresponding Order of the head of the state on strengthening the personnel potential in our country and applying concessions to companies with IT profile.

I think that the president's attention to the field will not be one-sided, companies growing using these concessions will also contribute to the strengthening of personnel potential. This is a direction in which educational institutions, companies operating in the field, and technoparks should be interested in working together to train better quality personnel.

- How do you evaluate the educational activities in the field of cyber security in Azerbaijan?

- We are trying to contribute to cyber security education in our country as the central executive authority that exercises powers in the field of information security. Thus, with the aim of strengthening information security in state institutions, as well as increasing the awareness of employees in the field, an exemplary information security manual was created and sent to state institutions.

The Cyber Hygiene project was implemented to strengthen the preparation level of civil servants to avoid becoming a victim of cyber attacks. Within the framework of the project, 4,475 civil servants' basic knowledge of the safe use of the Internet and computers was tested by simple cyber-attack simulations. Based on the results, 3,925 civil servants were involved in educational training.

In order to strengthen information security habits in state institutions and raise awareness, we prepared an Information Security Calendar consisting of a total of 12 security areas (for 12 months). These areas cover various aspects of information security. The calendar, printed in 5,000 copies and distributed to government agencies, includes general information, different safety rules, and online live educational seminars on the month's topic on the last Friday of each month.

It is possible to participate in those training by scanning the QR-code marked on the calendar or by linking to https://cert.gov.az/calendar.