Azerbaijani lawmaker blames Russia for February cyberattack

Russia was behind the February cyberattack on Azerbaijani media, Ramid Namazov, head of the Azerbaijani parliament's commission on countering hybrid threats, said on May 2, the APA news agency reported.

According to Namazov, the investigation found that the cyberattack against Azerbaijan that took place on Feb. 20, was carried out by the infamous APT29 group, also known as Cozy Bear, widely believed to be linked to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.

"The activities of APT29, which is engaged in cyber espionage, are mainly directed against government agencies, foreign diplomatic missions, as well as political, defense, energy, media and other critical areas," the lawmaker said.

Namazov suggested that the attack was a retaliation for the closure of the Russian House in Baku in early February and the possible shutdown of the Azerbaijani branch of Sputnik radio.

"It is because of these processes that this politically motivated incident of cyber interference took place," he added.

Azerbaijan, who has maintained historical ties with Russia, has seen relations with Moscow dwindle following the Dec. 25 crash of Flight J2-8243, which killed 38 people. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of causing the crash.

Russian hacker groups have engaged in various forms of cyber warfare throughout the full-scale war, including cyberattacks against Ukraine, hacks of civilian infrastructure in Europe, and interference in foreign elections.