Azerbaijan cybersecurity official warns of lasting impact of APT attacks

The need to protect not only critical information infrastructure, but also other systems directly or indirectly linked to it, is becoming increasingly important, an Azerbaijani cybersecurity official said.

Report informs that Davud Rustamov, head of the National Cybersecurity Center of the State Security Service, made the remarks during panel discussions held as part of the 4th National Cybersecurity Forum in Baku.

Rustamov said the centre faces highly complex situations in cyber forensics when analysing APT attacks.

"During the examination of memory areas, research into detected malware samples helps identify the malicious software, its communication with the command-and-control server and the behavioural model of its objectives. However, further continuous research also reveals its behavioural model in RAM volatility, namely self-copying in temporary memory, and its intention to spread to connected devices and networks," he said.

Rustamov said the main reason APT - Advanced Persistent Threat - attacks are so relevant today is that their consequences cannot be eliminated in a short period of time.

"These attacks cause damage to us for years, lead to material losses and deprive society and the population of important services. In other words, the shutdown of industrial systems, the seizure of sensitive data and access to information constituting a state secret are, in fact, the implementation of known traditional forms of sabotage through online means," he said.

He said that, in this regard, the scope of liability for sabotage had been expanded and the legal framework in this area strengthened through relevant amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.