CBA: Azerbaijan creating mechanisms to block suspicious numbers

New mechanisms are being created in Azerbaijan to promptly block suspicious numbers.

Elnur Eyvazlı, Director of the Information Security, Cybersecurity and Digital Fraud Prevention Department at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), said this at an event titled "The Future of Financial Cybersecurity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" held in Baku, Report informs.

According to him, citizens often receive calls using social engineering methods.

"For example, people presenting themselves as bank employees ask for card details and claim that funds are at risk. This is one of the most common fraud methods. As FinCERT and the anti-fraud team, our main activity is to ensure coordination. For this purpose, we use blacklist and graylist lists. The blacklist is formed based on suspicious transactions. For example, if we are able to detect and freeze funds being transferred from one bank to another in time, this is considered a successful result, because it prevents the funds from being taken out of the country. When analyzing the incident afterward, one of the main questions is to determine the source of the calls. These calls may be made via IP numbers, short numbers, WhatsApp or ordinary mobile numbers. The main approach here is to strengthen sectoral preventive measures," he said.

"At the detection stage, the CBA's mandate is limited to the financial sector. For example, we do not have the ability to intervene directly in the telecommunications sector. However, we have signed memorandums with the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport and the Electronic Security Service to ensure that problems are resolved promptly. The goal is to ensure a quick response to the cases we submit. In the future, cooperation with GSM operators is expected to be further expanded. If it becomes possible to promptly block or restrict suspicious numbers, or obtain information about the owner of such numbers when we submit relevant data, it will be possible to work more effectively with law enforcement agencies at the next stage. Each sector and each regulated entity has its own responsibility in this process. The fight ranges from anti-fraud measures to preventing cases of social engineering. The main goal is to prevent damage and then analyze the causes of the incident to prevent similar cases from recurring," the CBA official noted.

According to him, the application of artificial intelligence technologies also creates new opportunities in this area.

"Previously, anomalies were mainly identified based on logical rules. For example, transactions carried out at night or the transfer of 80% of the funds in an account were considered risk indicators. In such cases, the anti-fraud team responds to the transaction, blocks the card or asks the customer to confirm the transaction through an automated voice call. However, the approach should not rely solely on the human factor. The main focus should be on building continuous and effective processes, although these processes are also developed and improved by people," he said.