Computer Emergency Response Center participated in the international NatCSIRT 2026 and FIRSTCON26 events held in the United States

Murad Balayev, Head of the Computer Emergency Response Center of the Special Communication and Information Security State Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SCISSS), participated in the National CSIRTs Closed Technical Meeting (NatCSIRT Meeting), organized by the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) of Carnegie Mellon University in Denver, Colorado, United States, as well as in the 38th Annual FIRST Conference (FIRSTCON26).

The NatCSIRT Meeting is a closed-format international platform designed for representatives of CERT/CSIRT organizations responsible for the prevention of and response to cybersecurity incidents at the national level. The primary objective of the event is to strengthen trust and cooperation among leading CERTs, discuss current cybersecurity challenges, share best practices and expand opportunities for coordinated action against cross-border cyber threats. During the meeting, national CERTs from various countries presented their experiences in enhancing incident response capabilities, protecting government information resources and critical information infrastructure, organizing threat intelligence activities, establishing international information-sharing mechanisms and improving digital resilience and crisis management, while also exchanging views on issues of mutual interest.

The 38th Annual FIRST Conference (FIRSTCON26) is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious international events in the field of cybersecurity incident response. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) contributes to the advancement of global cybersecurity cooperation by bringing together government institutions, leading CERTs, academic organizations, international agencies and private sector representatives. Held this year under the theme “Peak Defense: Building Adaptive Systems for Modern Threats”, the conference featured numerous presentations, panel discussions and technical sessions focusing on the application of artificial intelligence technologies in cybersecurity operations, the automation of incident response processes, cyber threat intelligence, the protection of critical information infrastructures, digital resilience, supply chain attacks, ransomware mitigation, international cooperation and adaptive defense approaches tailored to the modern threat landscape.

During the conference, meetings were held with representatives of CERT/CSIRT organizations from various countries and development of international cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, the exchange of expertise and opportunities for future collaboration were discussed.

As part of FIRSTCON26, the “AzCyberForce” team of the Computer Emergency Response Center of SCISSS, representing Azerbaijan in the international Capture The Flag (CTF) competition, achieved 5th place among 69 teams and 179 participants, demonstrating the country's professional capabilities in the field of cybersecurity at the international level.

Overall, participation in the NatCSIRT 2026 and FIRSTCON26 events held significant importance for SCISSS in terms of expanding international cybersecurity cooperation, acquiring advanced best practices, establishing new partnership relations and presenting the country’s achievements in the field of cybersecurity on international platforms.