2nd International Cyber Security Week to be held in Azerbaijan

The 2nd International Cyber Security Week will be held in Azerbaijan on March 2- 6, 2020.

At a press conference that took place today,  detailed information was provided  on the events to be held as part of  Cyber Security Week.

Making opening remarks at the event, press secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Gunel Gozalova said security is just as important in the virtual world as it is in the real life. “According to statistics from cyber security company Arbor Networks, cybercrime in 2019 is 60 times more than in the last 11 years, which is a very serious figure. That is why cybersecurity is extremely important for countries, companies and individuals,” the spokeswoman said. According to her, around 500 million attacks occur every minute worldwide.

She also said that Azerbaijan, which is developing its own cybersecurity strategy, of course, is aware of these risks, and the implementation of the provisions of this strategy will play an important role in preventing them.

“Azerbaijan has also improved its cyber security index over the years. Azerbaijan is currently ranked 55th among 194 countries in The Global Cyber Security Index, where USA, UK, and France are in the first three places”, G.Gozalova said.

According to her, 8 major events will be held within the framework of the 2nd International Cyber Security Week, which will be organized by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies on March 2-6. The events will involve international experts.

Then the event organizers answered journalists’ questions.

Rashad Azizov, department head of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies commented on the postponement of the development of the Cyber Security Strategy.

“Cyber Security strategy has taken some time since it was implemented in line with the work plan of the Cabinet of Ministers”.

According to Rashad Azizov, one important point during the discussion was the fact that information security issues were not reflected in this Cyber Security Strategy: “But this is a very important issue. Therefore, work is under way to develop an important document called “Information Security and Cyber Security Strategy” by combining these two issues.

Rashad Azizov also answered the question about the Privacy Policy. “A Working Group has been set up in Azerbaijan to develop the General Data Protection Rules.”

He added that today a number of legislative acts are being worked out. “After the adoption of this document, it is envisaged to adopt the regulations.

Work is underway in this direction as well. I would like to note that legal reforms are being implemented to protect personal data, a high-level working group has been formed. The process is under the direction of the Deputy Minister. Changes will be made to these laws. In general, our approach to protecting personal information may also change.” “The Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies regularly takes measures to raise awareness of the population on cyber security.”

This was stated at a press conference by the representative of the Electronic Security Service Laman Huseynzade. She said raising the level of awareness was the main goal to provide the coordinated activities of bodies and companies operating in this field: Cyber Security Week has been created to provide the implementation of cyber security tasks set out in the 2014-2020 Strategy for the Development of Information Society approved by relevant decrees of the President. The Electronic Security Service under the Ministry regularly takes measures to raise awareness in this area. We organize workshops in secondary and higher schools. Events are held regularly to educate children, teachers and parents,” she said.

One of the events held within the Cyber Security Week is dedicated to the Government Cloud. Head of AzInTelecom’s commercial department Ruslan Aliyev gave detailed information on the event saying that the Government Cloud is not new in world practice:

“Cloud technologies are used here, which are different from traditional IT solutions. But in both versions, security plays an important role. In this regard, at the event, which will be held on March 3, participants will be able to receive answers to questions such as “What are cloud technologies?”, “What is the government cloud?”, “For whom is it applied?”

On March 4, the project manager of the UN Development Program Vasif Mammadov provided detailed information about the Youth Internet Governance Forum on Cyber Security organized by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies and the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with Azerbaijan Youth Foundation. He said the forum will discuss various ways of using the Internet to achieve more efficient, effective regional economic development and cultural progress.

Answering questions about cyber security training director of the ICT Applying and Training Center LLC Rauf Jabbarov said it was an important task assigned to the Center he headed. He noted that the number of specialists in this field is insufficient. “Starting from last year, the Center has been focusing on training of personnel. Trainings are held and certificates of international companies are awarded to those who successfully completes these trainings.

The Cybersecurity Week, which the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies has been organizing for the second year, is aimed at improving the effectiveness of related activities and raising awareness in the field of cybersecurity.

Within the framework of the Cyber ​​Security Week, it is planned to organize eight events dedicated to various areas of cybersecurity.

The first event Cyber Security Conference will be held on March 2. The event  will be organized by the  Electronic Security Service  under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies in partnership with  Microsoft, IS3S, Prosol and Kaspersky. Presentations and reports of local and international companies on new cyber security solutions  will be heard, taking into account the up-to-date trends and challenges.The event will play an invaluable platform for Q&A sessions, as well as unilateral and multilateral discussions in order to expand opportunities for cooperation.

In parallel with the conference, there will also be organized an exhibition Cyber village, where cyber security solutions will be showcased.

On March 3, a Safe Government Cloud event will take place. The event will provide information on the work done, products, services and future plans for the implementation of the Government Cloud project to be organized by AzInTelecom LLC. Information will also be given on the ongoing reforms in this area, the ways how to protect the  formed electronic resources of government agencies, business entities, organizations and individuals and existing cyber threats.It is also expected to share knowledge and skills in strengthening the national cybersecurity system. The event will also feature presentations on the data reservation service of the cloud provider AZCLOUD, secure cloud services, and data loss prevention.

The next event, which will be held on March 3, will be Pentesting, a prestigious workshop for cyber security specialists working in the public and banking sectors. The workshop will be jointly organized by the ICT Applying and Training Center (ICT LAB) of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies and company IS3S. It will be conducted by a famous Russian specialist and researcher in cybersecurity Yuri Gurkin, who will present the types, methods and technological solutions of the pentest.

On March 4, the Youth Internet Governance Forum on Cyber Security will be organized by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies and the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Youth Foundation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The event will discuss various ways of using the Internet with the purpose of achieving more efficient, effective regional economic development and cultural progress.

On March 4, competition Hackathon (Capture the Flag) will be launched on as part of Cyber Security Week. It will be organized by the Electronic Security Service in partnership with the Innovation Agency. The proposal was made for the participating teams to solve the tasks on such topics as using of vulnerabilities in web applications, using of cryptography and binary application gaps and reverse engineering.

On March 5, the event entitled “Digital law: Protection of Personal Data ”  will be held.It will be organized  by the Electronic Security Service in partnership with Prosol, E&Y and licensed companies.

Local and international companies will make presentations and reports related to the European experience in the field of personal data protection in the digital era, based on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.

In addition, information will be provided on the current situation and the reforms implemented in Azerbaijan.

On March 5, the International Certification Training on Cyber Security will also be held.The event will be organized by the Azerbaijan Standardization Institute and the ICT Applying  and Training Center. Within a week-long training, local specialists will be trained according to ISO / IEC 27001 – Information Security Management Systems – the requirements and application methods  of the adopted international standards  and  be taught how to use them.

On March 6, the Hackathon competition award ceremony will be held. The winners of the first, second and third places will receive 4,000 AZN, 2,000 AZN and  1,000 AZN, respectively. Thus, the Cyber Security Week will end.