Natalia Spinu: Azerbaijan becoming cyber resilience hub for Caucasus, Central Asia

Azerbaijan is demonstrating that it is building not only national cybersecurity capacity but also regional confidence, Natalia Spinu, director of the European Institute for Political Studies of Moldova, cybersecurity expert, and governor of Moldova for responsible artificial Intelligence, said at the closing ceremony of the Critical Infrastructure Defense Challenge 2025 (CIDC-2025) conference, Report informs.

According to Spinu, initiatives like CIDC-2025 demonstrate the growing energy of young professionals who are learning to identify vulnerabilities and protect the infrastructure of cities and countries.

"My message to neighboring partners is simple: security is stronger when it is shared. The experience of experts from the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Europe working together has proven that cyber resilience is a shared mission," she noted.

The expert emphasized that this approach-cooperation, sustainability, and digital sovereignty-underpins Azerbaijan's policy.

"Azerbaijan has demonstrated its ability to compete with leading countries, build bridges, and create a safer, more cooperative region. This is how leadership in cybersecurity is born. Azerbaijan is becoming a cybersecurity hub for the Caucasus and Central Asia. This is not an accident, but the result of strategic vision, unity, and determination," the institute's director emphasized.

According to her, future wars will be fought not only on the battlefield, but also in cyberspace.

"Azerbaijan has already faced this reality following the intensification of systemic cyberattacks, particularly after the Second Karabakh War. During the conference, we heard how persistent these attacks have become and learned about the creation of a parliamentary commission in Azerbaijan to counter private threats," Spinu added.