OSCE and Azerbaijan discuss cybersecurity

BAKU, 13 April 2015 - The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry organized a two-day conference on ensuring national security in the information age, which brought together more than 80 representatives from more than 30 government and private organizations in Azerbaijan as well as international experts on cybersecurity.

The conference aims at raising awareness within the government, private and non-profit sectors about new developments in the sphere of cybersecurity with special emphasis on legislation, policy framework, international co-operation and overall capacity development for the security of cyberspace.

“The rapid economic development that Azerbaijan is enjoying, accompanied by the modernization of infrastructure and permeation of information technologies throughout the public and private sectors, reinforces the need for developing the capacity for preventing and countering cyber-crimes in Azerbaijan,” said Ambassador Alexis Chahtahtinsky, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku. “In our efforts to effectively address all possible threats, we have to ensure that we do not overreact and sacrifice the benefits that a functioning cyberspace brings to society as a whole.”

During the conference, renowned experts and practitioners shared with Azerbaijani colleagues the best international practices in cybersecurity. The panel discussions provided an opportunity to develop the operational and technical knowledge of prosecutors, judges and law enforcement officers. They also opened avenues for officials to develop partnerships with the private sector in order to increase the capacity of Azerbaijan for cybersecurity.

This event is part of a project by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku on preventing and countering cybercrimes in Azerbaijan. The project is being implemented in co-operation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Security, Justice as well as Communications and High Technologies.