Armenian, Azerbaijani hackers stop cyber attacks – expert

The hacker attacks following the extradition Ramil Safarov, the Azerbaijani axe-murderer who was serving a life sentence in Hungary, have been slowly fading out since September 3, an information security expert has said.

“Once that person was rendered to Baku, a big Azerbaijani group launched an attack against the Armenian websites. They hacked 20 sites in three days, posting his image and the decree on granting him a pardon,” Samvel Martirosyan told reporters on Wednesday.

The Azerbaijanis’ most notable success, according to the expert, was that they managed to hack the website of an organization assisting the children with cancer, and of a foundation dealing with orphanages.

“Our main target was the Azerbaijani presidential and ministerial websites and the media outlets. The Armenian hackers targeted few sites, as they had a specific goal. Only once was the server of entertainment websites hacked,” he added.

Martirosyan said the hacking attempts included both the posting of images and DDoS attacks.

“The DDoS attacks were powerful from both sides, but the Azerbaijanis did not manage to stop our websites from operating. But some of their very serious news websites went out of operation,” he added.

The expert noted that the hacker attacks by the Azerbaijanis bear a permanent nature. “It looks as though the Azerbaijani hackers have targets to meet,” he said.

Martirosyan added that the society often complains in such situations as to why the Armenian hackers fail to respond to the attacks. “I am hopeful the operations carried out this week proved that if something is needed it’s done.”

Considering cyber attacks hooliganism, the expert recommended against engaging in such practices. He said the attack against the Azerbaijani president’s website was just an opportunity to turn the international media’s attention to the topic.