Azerbaijani authorities have reported a series of intensive cyberattacks targeting the country's state information infrastructure, with a hacker group reportedly linked to Iran claiming responsibility for the operation. The State Service for Special Communication and Information Security of Azerbaijan announced on Wednesday that the attacks had been detected from approximately 22:00 local time on October 13, 2026. "The attack, carried out by a foreign hacker group, targeted more than 100 state domains located within the state information infrastructure of the Republic of Azerbaijan," the agency stated.
Although Azerbaijani authorities have not publicly identified the country responsible, a group known as "313 Team", reportedly associated with Iran and believed to operate from Iraqi territory, has claimed responsibility. In a statement published on its Telegram channel on Tuesday at 21:00 Baku time, the group announced what it described as a large-scale cyberattack targeting 47 key IP address ranges associated with Azerbaijan's government digital infrastructure. The hackers cited alleged restrictions on wearing the hijab in Azerbaijani educational institutions as the motivation behind the attack and said the operation would continue for 24 hours.
"We have received numerous complaints regarding the ban imposed by the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on girls wearing the hijab in schools and universities. Given the significant size of the Shia community in Azerbaijan, we will take decisive action against the state. We will completely disable the government's digital infrastructure," the group declared.
The claim concerning a general hijab ban in Azerbaijani schools and universities has not been substantiated in the information provided. According to the group's own account, the cyberattack reached an intensity exceeding 2.5 terabits per second and allegedly disrupted access to government websites, including the official state portal and the websites of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Internal Affairs. The hackers further claimed that 1,825 government websites had been rendered inaccessible.
These figures have not been independently verified and differ substantially from the information released by Azerbaijani authorities, who reported that more than 100 state domains had been targeted. The authorities have not confirmed the hacker group's claims regarding the scale of the disruption or its alleged links to Iran. Here we are to serve you with news right now.
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