Baku: The State Security Service of Azerbaijan has uncovered a cybercriminal group involved in the sale of prohibited information, APA reports. A preventive detention measure has been imposed on Nihad Ahmad oglu Hajiyev, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, who is accused in a criminal case currently under investigation by the State Security Service (SSS). Nihad Hajiyev, who created and managed a ‘darknet’-type internet resource and engaged in the sale of personal data and other information prohibited by law, was arrested as one of the members of a cybercriminal group exposed during operational-technical measures carried out by the SSS.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, together with his associates, Nihad Hajiyev organized cyberattacks on ‘xeberoxu.az’ and other information portals, seized control of these websites, altered the content of news articles, and illegally obtained users’ personal data by encouraging them to download malicious mobile applications such as ‘Çarxla Qazan.apk’, ‘Paypal.apk’, e
tc., which contained harmful code.
Additionally, Nihad Hajiyev registered domain names similar to the official websites of several companies and institutions operating in the Republic of Azerbaijan, such as ‘Irshad Electronics’, ‘Baku Electronics’, ‘Xalq Bank’, etc. He created fake websites, presented them on social networks as authentic platforms, and collected users’ personal data under the guise of discount campaigns.
One significant aspect is that the group members used cyberattack tools known as ‘Call Spoofing,’ allowing them to impersonate any mobile number belonging to individuals or companies to make deceptive calls. They also sent fake SMS messages on behalf of companies to mislead people and organized the sale of such online services.
The court initially determined the duration of Nihad Hajiyev’s detention to be 3 months.