Azerbaijani media union calls for civil protest over Russia-linked cyberattacks

A senior Azerbaijani media official has called on civil society organisations to issue a formal protest to the Russian side following recent cyberattacks on Azerbaijani media outlets.

Speaking during public discussions on "Cyberattacks on Azerbaijani Media Resources", organised by the temporary parliamentary commission on countering foreign interference and hybrid threats, Mushfig Alasgarli, a board member of the Press Council and head of the Journalists' Trade Union, accused Russia of being the source of several cyber incidents, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

"The cyberattacks targeting certain Azerbaijani media platforms originated from Russia," Alasgarli stated.

During the Patriotic War and anti-terrorist operations, several Azerbaijani websites were blocked in that country. These were primarily Russian-language platforms disseminating information to international audiences."

Referring specifically to a coordinated cyberattack on February 20, he said the response should not remain solely within governmental channels.

"I believe a protest statement should be issued to the Russian side, at the very least at the level of public organisations," he said. "This is not just a technical breach — it is a violation of our media sovereignty and information space."

Earlier, Azerbaijan's parliament chairman, Ramid Namazov, revealed that a massive cyberattack on multiple Azerbaijani media outlets on February 20, 2025, was traced back to Russia. The attack was attributed to the Russian-linked cyber-espionage group APT29 (also known as Cozy Bear). Namazov confirmed that sophisticated techniques were used, compromising the infrastructure of Global Media Group and wiping out critical backup copies of media websites.

The attack is believed to have been triggered by Azerbaijan's actions towards the Russian Information and Cultural Centre and potential closure of the "Russia Today" bureau. Namazov praised Azerbaijan's enhanced cybersecurity capabilities, stating that the country can now neutralise cyber threats and trace their origins.

He noted that the attackers' internal IP addresses and even their location in Azerbaijan were identified, marking this as a significant, politically motivated cyber operation.

By Aghakazim Guliyev