The opening ceremony of the “Information Security Testing” laboratory was held at the Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) with the initiative and support of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Security (SCISS).
The event was attended by the Head of the SCISS, Lieutenant General Ilgar Musayev, Head of the National Cybersecurity Center of the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Major General Davud Rustamov, Vice President of SOCAR Ziba Mustafayeva, Rector of BHOS Elmar Gasimov, Head of the Digital Management Department of the Ministry of Economy Anar Narimanov, Scientific Director of the National Institute for Research and Development of Informatics (ICI Bucharest) of Romania Carmen Elena Cirnu and other guests.
The “Information Security Tests” laboratory was established within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the BHOS and the BHOS and in accordance with the relevant requirements of the “Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Information Security and Cybersecurity for 2023–2027” approved by the relevant Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Work will be continued jointly with the Ministry of Economy to increase the technical capabilities of the laboratory, equip it with special software and additional equipment.
The created laboratory is intended for use by students, teachers and researchers studying at the university, as well as employees of state institutions. Here, specialists will have the opportunity to work together on cyber incident scenarios in accordance with international standards, participate in trainings organized by the BHOS, and gain practical experience. This approach turns the laboratory into a testing platform — a personnel training base — where operational readiness for cybersecurity is tested and improved, in addition to a place of study.
After the opening ceremony of the laboratory, the first training was held under the “Cyber Polygon” project, implemented jointly by the CRIS and the Romanian National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics within the framework of NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Program. “Cyber Polygon” is an advanced cyber training and testing platform implemented by the CRIS within the framework of international cooperation. Through this platform, real cyber attack scenarios aimed at critical information infrastructures are modeled, defense mechanisms are tested, and operational response skills to incidents are formed.
The “Information Security Tests” laboratory is of great importance in terms of the development of practically oriented education in the field of information security at a higher education institution.
