13 October 2025
On October 9–10, one of the country’s most prestigious cybersecurity events — the Critical Infrastructure Defence Challenge (CIDC 2025) — was held for the second time at the Baku Congress Center. The competition brought together Azerbaijan’s top cybersecurity teams, testing their skills in a cyber warfare simulation based on real-life attack and defense scenarios.
As part of the event, a Cybersecurity Solutions Exhibition took place. The Azerbaijan Cybersecurity Center (ACC), operating under the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IDDA), participated with its own booth, where it showcased two locally developed innovative products — “GAIA” and “Awero.” Visitors had the opportunity to explore their functionality and practical applications.
The CIDC 2025 program also featured panel discussions. During the panel titled “A New Playground for Cybercriminals: Smart Cities,” Shahin Aliyev, Deputy Chairman of the IDDA, shared insights on cybersecurity challenges and advanced defense models for smart city infrastructures.
Within the framework of CIDC 2025, IDDA successfully participated in the cyber warfare challenge with two teams — “Digital Rangers” (composed of IRIA employees) and “Dopamine” (representing the Azerbaijan Cybersecurity Center). Both teams advanced to the top ten finalists of the competition.
The participation of the ACC in this event plays an important role in building and strengthening both local and international partnerships in the cybersecurity field, as well as promoting Azerbaijan’s cybersecurity potential on the global stage.