Azerbaijani Deposit Insurance Fund talks on protection measures against cyberattacks

The Azerbaijani Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) plans to complete the creation of a Cybersecurity Operations Center by the end of 2028, Farid Shirinov, Head of the System Administration and Programming Department of the ADIF's IT Department, said at the Dialogue and Cooperation Forum organized on the occasion of National Press Day, Report informs.

He stated that the organization uses Fortinet Firewall solutions operating in High Availability (HA) mode to prevent network attacks.

"The HA principle is that if one firewall fails, the other continues to operate, ensuring uninterrupted network operation. This ensures that even if one device malfunctions, network operation is not interrupted," he noted.

Shirinov also stated that the fund's internet portals and services are additionally protected by a Web Application Firewall (WAF).

In addition, the CyberArk solution is used to protect privileged users-administrators, employees, and technical support specialists connecting to the network.

According to him, the next step will be the implementation of SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) solutions, which will provide complete monitoring of the network and the organization's entire IT infrastructure.

"SIEM collects, analyzes, and monitors event logs from all network devices and services. SOAR aggregates the information received from SIEM, automatically generates response measures, and ensures their implementation," explained the foundation representative.

He noted that, in accordance with the decree of the President of Azerbaijan on digitalization, the creation of Cybersecurity Operations Centers is envisaged in all government agencies.

Such centers will enable 24/7 monitoring of networks, services, and portals, promptly respond to incidents, prevent cyberattacks, and counter phishing attacks, Shirinov said.

According to Shirinov, the project is currently in the preparatory stage and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2028.

He also emphasized that exact data on the number of cyberattacks is not disclosed, but most attempted attacks are carried out through phishing emails.

"Unknown links are sent to users. If a person clicks on such a link, malware can penetrate the network and spread to other computers," Shirinov added.