Central Bank of Azerbaijan unveils cybersecurity strategy details

Head of the Information and Cybersecurity Department of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Elvin Shahverdiyev has said that Azerbaijani banks have security operations centres, but the vast majority of them do not work around the clock.

Shahverdiyev made the remarks at the sixth International Banking Forum in Baku within the cooperation with the Mastercard international payment system through the support of the Azerbaijan Banks Association, the CBA, the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication, Report informs.

He noted that this issue will be taken into account in the CBA’s cybersecurity strategy.

“The strategy will reflect certain measures to strengthen, improve, renew and develop cybersecurity in the financial sector. The cybersecurity strategy can be called FinCERT (Centre for Monitoring and Response to Computer Attacks in the Credit and Financial Sphere). It will focus on increasing the level of governance, information sharing and awareness (Computer Emergency Response Team - CERT) in the financial sector,” the head of the department said.

“The initial strategy will reflect FinCERT's scope, the certain sequences related to FinCERT's creation, implementation, structural operations, and response plans. The creation of a financial CERT is very capacious work, so we are waiting for support from the banking sector and insurance organisations,” he said.

Shahverdiyev stressed that the formation of FinCERT activity is aimed at developing a powerful system of protection against cyber incidents by ensuring the continuity of financial stability in the country.

“We strive to increase the efficiency of interaction with the state agencies. The goal is to bring cooperation between the national CERT and the newly created FinCERT to a high level,” the head of the department said.

Shahverdiyev added that cybersecurity issues are among the most vulnerable ones in the financial sector, IT and the digitalisation process in the modern era.