The official opening ceremony of “Cyber Summer School 2025,” organized by the Azerbaijan Cybersecurity Organizations Association (ACOA), took place on July 21 at the Bilgah Recreation Center of the State Security Service (SSS).
Panah Musayev, Chairman of the ACOA Board, delivered an opening speech at the ceremony, stating that the summer school, now being held for the 4th time, has been honored with the “Global Security Award” by OIC-CERT, the official cybersecurity platform of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Panah Musayev also mentioned that participants from fraternal Turkey are attending the training sessions. The training sessions will be held at Baku Higher Oil School.
Subsequently, Major General Davud Rustamov, Head of the SSS National Cybersecurity Center, who supports the initiative to hold “Cyber Summer School 2025,” noted that they are ready to support the training with specialists experienced in combating cyber threats using the latest methods.
Elmar Gasimov, Rector of Baku Higher Oil School, stated that cybersecurity and digital trends will influence young people's career choices in the future. Elmar Gasimov also emphasized the formation of a skilled contingent in information technology in the country.
Mehdi Rasulov, who won the “cyber hero” title in the CTF competition organized within the framework of the Cyber Summer School held in 2021 and is currently studying computer science at Columbia University, considered one of the world's most prestigious universities, shared his impressions about the cyber camp.
Major General Elshad Nasirov, Head of the SSS Academy named after Heydar Aliyev, participating in the event, emphasized the critical importance of cybersecurity in the information age and highlighted the necessity of studying methods to combat hybrid threats.
Vilayat Valiyev, Rector of Azerbaijan Technical University, and Yaqub Piriyev, Rector of Baku Engineering University, wished success to the summer school participants in their speeches and offered their recommendations.
Subsequently, Osman Gunduz, President of the Azerbaijan Internet Forum, spoke, noting that the organization of summer schools plays a significant role in the formation of young specialists in cybersecurity in the country.
After the official opening ceremony, presentations by companies began. Subhan Sharifov, Regional Manager of “Crowdstrike,” and Elshan Hasanov, an active member of the cyber diaspora operating within ACOA and Manager at “Amazon Web Services,” delivered presentations.
Rauf Jabbarov, ACOA Executive Director, stated that the main goal of the project is to train qualified personnel in the field of cybersecurity, educate young people in this direction, and promote international cooperation and networking. He emphasized that 130 participants from Azerbaijan and Turkey are attending the Summer School. Of these, 57 are members of Cyber Clubs established at local universities through ACOA's initiative.
During the Summer School, participants will engage in daily intensive training, practical exercises, meetings with experts, masterclasses, and a real-scenario-based cyber competition called “Capture The Flag.” The training will be conducted in Azerbaijani and English, and students will be divided into “Red Team” and “Blue Team” formats to work on different scenarios.
Side events include the Cyber Education Forum, an outdoor “meet-up” event for ACOA experts, and masterclasses by members of the Cyber diaspora.
The main partners of the event are “Caspel,” “Crowdstrike,” “CaspianTech,” and Baku Higher Oil School, with sponsors “Techpro,” “MegaSec,” ESET, “Crocusoft,” and “Rabalon” companies. CTF competitions will be held in partnership with YER hosting, and educational competitions with “Code Academy” and MilliSec.
“Cyber Summer School 2025” will continue until July 26.