Azerbaijan faces rising cyber threats across key sectors, says Mastercard executive

Cyberattacks targeting Azerbaijan over the past year have been most frequently directed at the technology, energy, and public sectors, said Suheyl Hamavioglu, Director of Cyber Security Products Management at Mastercard for Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Hamavioglu made the remarks at an event in Baku focused on the future of financial cybersecurity in the era of artificial intelligence, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

He said the study covered the period from July 2025 to June 2026, during which the most frequently targeted assets were business systems across various sectors in Azerbaijan, including core operational environments, banking and mobile applications, and other critical business applications. Physical assets ranked second among the most frequently targeted categories after business systems.

Hamavioglu noted that more than 70% of all cyberattack targets were business systems and physical infrastructure, highlighting significant risks to both digital and physical organizational assets.

According to the study, 26% of attacks were directed at the technology sector, 23% at the energy sector, 21% at government institutions, 18% at the financial sector, and 12% at media organizations.

By Vafa Guliyeva