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29.01.2008

AZERBAIJAN DEVELOPING INFORMATION WAR

   

Samvel Martirosyan

internet (medium)In Azerbaijan is continuing active work directed to the internet information war against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Not long ago the Azerbaijanis put into operation an Armenian language information site. As a matter of fact, network broadcasting in the language of the enemy has its influence, however, the amount of financial and human resources involved in it in the very case were not justified.

Yet, today are also used methods of more secret character, in particular, creation of pseudo-resources under the Armenian flag, in reality being controlled by Azerbaijanis. As an example one may bring the so called information portal Xronika (www.xronika.com).

Two-pass operation has been used to develop this resource. In August the Azerbaijani information resources put into circulation information that the Armenian hackers had attacked the Azerbaijani site of Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) www.cesd.az. It was also informed that after hacking the organization’s, the hackers allegedly substituted it for the Armenian site www.xronika.com. However, the Pseudo-attack was supposedly quickly repulsed and the site was restored.

CESD spread information that their site was attacked because the organization was carrying out active propagandist work. As an argument was offered the report of the Chairman of the Center, Vugar Bayramov, where it was said that if Azerbaijan needed 20 years to make its way to up-to-date European level, than Armenia needs 50 years. Besides, CESD announced in different international structures that for fair settlement of the Karabakh conflict it will not take part in any event should it suppose participation of any Armenian organization.

Of course CESD’s arguments were quite primitive. Besides, it is well known that no serious attacks against the Azerbaijani part were made by the Armenians, and those made were in response to the attacks of Azerbaijani hackers.

However, the fact is that as a result of the above mentioned release the site xronika.com was considered to be Armenian. As a matter of fact at first sight it is very difficult to determine who this very resource belong to. The XRONIKA.COM was registered at the end of May of the previous year in Moscow under a neutral Russian name.

The Azerbaijanis made a blunder in another thing. The mistake was the usage of a pseudonym known in Hacking operation against Armenians. An “Artur Ohanyan” began delivering letters among Armenians active in the Internet. In the letter was suggested to download some discrediting Azerbaijani materials placed in the very site www.xronika.com. After the file has been downloaded it turns out to be “trojan,” that’s to say a harmful program, which, once appearing in anybody’s computer, tracks all the passwords printed by the user and sends it to the plotter.

The matter is that under the pseudonym “Artur Ohanyan” is hidden the well known Azerbaijani hacker Badjioghlu who managed to hack several Armenian sites last year. At that, his methods haven’t changed much. First of all, Badjioghlu again sent “trojans” under the pretext of discrediting against Azerbaijan. Second, he was noted for announcing about hacking the Armenian sites which were proved to be his own. Besides, judging by the handwriting, in its time this very hacker hacked the site of the Azerbaijani TV channel, placing a message with lots of spelling mistakes on behalf of Armenian special services, which was followed by the attack on Armenian resources. Besides, he was the one to hack the site of the National Front of Azerbaijan in the guise of an Armenian.

Most probably the site www.xronika.com is being controlled in SECD, or this organization served as a screen for the other Azerbaijani structures to create a site with the help of which it is possible to spread disinformation or destabilize Armenian-Georgian relations. In any case it is hardly possible that this site is run by a private person, as quite a laborious and routine work is being carried out there every day.

In spite of quite little results in the field, the Azerbaijani party works in the direction of deploying information war. At the same time no coordinated steps are made by the Armenians neither in the field of attacking in the information front nor event counteracting the Azerbaijani attacks. Besides, this question in Azerbaijan is treated officially, whereas, the Armenians pay almost no attention to this direction.

Thus, not long ago the Azerbaijani Parliament deputy Ganira Pashaeva announced: “Most of the domains connected with Azerbaijan are seized by Armenians, which is a threat for our republic’s information security.” According to him, the state must be actively engaged in this problem: “first of all we must return out domains as soon as possible. Second, this task should be charged with the state. Third, we need to register new domains, connected with geographic names and historical values of Azerbaijan.

According to Pashaeva, “this is a matter of strategic importance for us. In the global world, where the internet in inseparable part of our life, information war is conducted in the virtual world. Such state of affairs threatens our information security, and we must keep it away from us.” She suggests buying all the domains connected with Azerbaijan and belonging to commercial structures. And in other cases Pashaeva intends to initiate complaints to the organization ICANN (engaged in global registration of domains).

Of course it is hardly possible to return domains though ICANN, as the domains with such geographic names as azerbaijan, karabakh, fizuli, lachin (domains of such kind are being controlled by Armenians) are not protected by commercial brands. However, there is an obvious attempt to raise all these questions to the state level. At the same time all these domains are not controlled by Armenians because of Yerevan’s aggressive policy, but by private initiative of Armenians from Armenia and Diaspora.


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