Academician Rasim Alguliyev: "The main goal is to strengthen the cyber-immunity of the state and society"

Information and communication technologies have been widely applied in various spheres in Azerbaijan for more than 20 years. Citizens, in turn, connect to the Internet and solve various essential problems on online platforms using mobile phones and other computing devices. Therefore, alongside the world's developed countries, Azerbaijan is also achieving significant progress in this direction. Information technologies, virtual realities, social networks, and mobile phones have become an integral part of people's lives in both government agencies and the business and civil society sectors. They are now widely utilizing these tools not only to simplify their daily work but also to conduct business activities in the virtual environment.

These views were shared with AZERTAC by Academician Rasim Alguliyev, Vice-President of the ANAS and Director General of the Institute of Information Technology under the Ministry of Science and Education. The academician noted that consequently, cybersecurity issues are becoming increasingly relevant in the context of digital transformations.

The country's leadership continually adopts national strategies, state programs, decrees, and orders to support, coordinate, and regulate complex efforts in this area and prevent cyber risks and threats. In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev's Order on the "Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Information Security and Cybersecurity for 2023–2027" is of paramount importance. This document mandates significant tasks for state bodies and higher education institutions, as well as scientists and specialists.

"Naturally, all complex measures being implemented encompass not only the digital technological infrastructure but also the improvement of legislation, the adoption of necessary regulatory and legal documents, and the consistent pursuit of activities in this direction. The main goal is to strengthen the cyber-immunity of the state and society and generally the fight against cyber threats, especially in the context of digital technologies widely implemented across all areas of social life and, particularly, in various technological spheres and critical infrastructures of the country. It is no coincidence that the wide application and development of digital and artificial intelligence technologies have recently been identified as one of our country's main priorities under the realities created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We are already observing the positive results of the targeted measures being implemented in this direction," the academician stated.