Azerbaijan sees surge in cyberattack victims, with thousands affected

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 7. Last year, nearly
3,800 users in Azerbaijan fell victim to cyberattacks, the State
Service for Special Communications and Information Security
(SSSCIS) told Trend.

In a statement, the SSSCIS noted that the victims of hacking
incidents were often individuals who failed to follow proper
cybersecurity and personal cyber hygiene practices while using the
internet.

“Despite the implementation of the ‘Cyber Hygiene Project’ for
state employees, promotion of the ‘Information Security Guidelines’
and other educational initiatives, 134 employees from 32 state
institutions fell victim to hacker attacks last year due to their
disregard for cyber hygiene rules.

The statistics were recorded after citizens, who became victims
of these attacks, not only had their personal data compromised on
their computers but also exposed authentication details (usernames,
passwords) and personal information related to electronic
government services they had used.

In total, during the previous year, hackers accessed nearly
3,800 private accounts related to government e-services. Relevant
authorities were notified about the breaches, and necessary
measures were taken to address the issues, including on-site checks
at various institutions.

The SSSCIS, aiming to strengthen personal cyber hygiene and
safeguard against growing cyber threats, has advised government
institutions to connect to a centralized antivirus system and urged
citizens to use antivirus software, avoid suspicious links, and
report fake domains to the blacklist platform at blacklist.gov.az,”
the SSSCIS said.