Iran's hardline paper slams creation of joint Azerbaijan-Israel cybersecurity centre

Iran's conservative Kayhan newspaper has criticized the establishment of the joint Azerbaijan-Israel cybersecurity centre in Baku, saying that Israelis have targeted the territory of Azerbaijan "for their cyber purposes".

"It seems that the weakness of the cyber-infrastructure has made the Zionist regime [Israel] think of seeking a solution abroad, and in this connection, the Zionists have targeted the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan for their cyber purposes," the editorial said on July 3.

The article added that "choosing the territory of Azerbaijan for the cyber activity of the Zionist regime shows more than anything the negligence of the Baku authorities about the creeping threats of the Zionists".

"The expansion of Zionist cyber activity in the territory of Azerbaijan will cause not only the infrastructures of the Zionist regime, but also the cyber infrastructures of the Republic of Azerbaijan to be the target of cyber and hacking attacks, therefore Azerbaijan should not be deceived by this regime," Keyhan wrote.

An agreement on the joint cybersecurity centre was signed between the Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan and the well-known Israeli Technion University, during a visit of Azerbaijani Minister of Digital Development Rashad Nabiev to Israel in late June. 

The Azerbaijan Cyber Security Center, which will start its activities based on the newly signed agreement, will train more than 1,000 specialists over the next 3 years. Training within the framework of the program will be conducted by the relevant faculty of the Technion University in Baku. In the near future, it is planned to announce admission to the program.

Technion University President Prof. Uri Sivan said that he is very pleased with the cooperation and looks forward to its further expansion in the future.

In addition, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defence Zakir Hasanov inaugurated the Cybersecurity Operations Center of the Main Department of Communications, Information Technologies and Cybersecurity of the ministry on July 5. 

The centre is designed to ensure cybersecurity by continuous monitoring and control of the information and communication technologies environment of the Azerbaijan Army. The centre will operate in line with advanced global practices in the field of cybersecurity, as well as carry out continuous observation and management of information and communication technologies and command and control systems, timely detection of threats, digital investigations, electronic security checks, and other activities.