Technical attacks target both government websites and civil society groups in Armenia, and they frequently originate in neighboring Azerbaijan. The scope and pace of cyberattacks from Azerbaijan tend to increase in tandem with armed conflict between the two countries.
In June 2024, after the coverage period, a group named People’s Cyber Army of Russia initiated cyberattacks against the Armenian embassy in Ukraine and Armenian government and law enforcement websites, including the websites of the prime minister and the president.
In January 2024, the hacking group Anonymous Russia initiated DDoS attacks against Armenian government sites,
banks,
and telecommunications operators
because the government had become more friendly with the EU and the United States. Then, in March 2024, Anonymous Sudan (a group affiliated with Russia) reportedly launched a cyberattack against Team Telecom, the Armenian mobile operator.
In November 2023, a Turkish hacking group hacked a site used as a landing page for educational textbooks. As a result, when students scanned the QR codes in their books, the landing page displayed pro-Turkey propaganda.
In October 2023, the digital security and defense group CyberHUB reported a malware attack that primarily targeted state bodies in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, days before the Azerbaijani military offensive. The websites included one belonging to the Army of Defence of Nagorno-Karabakh. According to CyberHUB, the attacks were likely launched by Azerbaijani hackers.
In August 2023, the website of the newspaper Hraparak suffered a DDoS attack. The perpetrator was not identified, though analysis suggests that it was likely not initiated by the Azerbaijani government.
In March 2023, the Armenian media outlet Aravot had its YouTube channel hijacked by unidentified hackers, who posted promotions for cryptocurrency scams. The outlet stated that the attacks occurred as it was preparing to post a videyuo report on the business transactions of individuals close to Prime Minister Pashinyan. The outlet recovered control over the channel shortly after the attack.
In October 2022, Azerbaijani hackers attacked more than 200 Armenian websites, commandeering them to publish propaganda. The hacked sites included those of the Gyumri municipal government, the South Caucasus Railway, the Byurakan Observatory, and the State Conservatory.
Also that October, the Union of Informed Citizens, a nongovernmental organization, reported that three of its websites had been attacked by Azerbaijani hackers.
In April 2023, the organization reported that its YouTube channel had been attacked by unidentified hackers. Both the websites and the YouTube channel were later restored.
In September 2023, ESET reported targeted attacks by the Russian hacking group APT 28 against governmental institutions in Ukraine, Armenia, and Tajikistan. In June 2023, ESET discovered a set of spear-phishing campaigns, dubbed Operation RoundPress, enabling the hackers to obtain access to steal emails and address books and to create forwarding rules to steal incoming emails. This operation primarily targeted government employees in Armenia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine.