Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

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Baku, Sabail District Court has ordered the pre-trial detention of Nihad Hajiyev, an Azerbaijani citizen, who is accused in an ongoing criminal case handled by the State Security Service (SSS), Azernews reports.

Nihad Hajiyev was apprehended during operational-technical measures carried out by the SSS as a member of a cybercriminal group involved in creating and managing a darknet-type internet resource. This platform was used for the illegal sale of personal data and other information prohibited by law from being shared.

Hajiyev, together with accomplices, orchestrated cyberattacks on information portals such as “xeberoxu.az” and others. They seized control of these websites, altering the content of published news. Moreover, they distributed mobile applications containing malicious code — including “Çarxla Qazan.apk” and “Paypal.apk” — which, once downloaded onto users’ phones, enabled the illegal acquisition of their personal data.

In addition, Nihad Hajiyev acquired domain names similar to official websites of several Azerbaijani companies and institutions, including “Irshad Electronics,” “Baku Electronics,” and “Xalq Bank.” He created fake websites mimicking these official pages and promoted them on social media, misleading users with supposed discount campaigns to mass-harvest personal information.

Notably, the group also employed “Call Spoofing” cyberattack tools, which allowed them to imitate any mobile phone number to make fraudulent calls. They sent fake SMS messages impersonating companies, successfully deceiving people, and facilitated the online sale of such deceptive services.

The court has set Nihad Hajiyev’s pre-trial detention period initially for three months.