In 2009, the Republic of Azerbaijan acceded to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), significantly expanding the opportunities for international co-operation in combating cybercrime. In particular, the Convention established a legal framework for the expedited preservation and acquisition of electronic evidence, as well as for communication with the competent authorities of other States through the 24/7 Network established under Art. 35 of the Budapest Convention.
During 2025-2026, a number of cyberattacks targeting the information infrastructures of various public institutions and private organisations operating in Azerbaijan had a significant adverse impact on their operations.
In the course of investigating these cybercrime incidents, forensic examinations of the affected organisations' information systems were conducted, resulting in the collection of technical evidence. Based on the analysis of this evidence, IP addresses associated with the incidents were identified. To ensure the preservation of subscriber and traffic data relating to these IP addresses (Article 16/17/29), requests were transmitted to the relevant States through the 24/7 Network established under the Budapest Convention (Article 35). Furthermore, within the framework of criminal investigations initiated in relation to these cyber incidents, information was obtained from the competent authorities of the respective States through Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests (Article 25) and was used in the investigation of the cybercriminal activities.
We would like to emphasize that the mechanisms established under the Budapest Convention play a vital role in the investigation of cybercrime, as well as in identifying cybercriminals and bringing them to justice.