Internet to be main information source by 2020
By Nigar Orujova
Internet will become the main source of information in Azerbaijan by 2020, Azerbaijani Press Council Chairman said on February 4.
Speaking at a round-table meeting titled "Information Security of Online Media", Aflatun Amashov said a study conducted in September 2013 showed that about 40 percent of the respondents consider the internet as a source of obtaining information.
Almost the same number of respondents called TV channels a source of information. Some 13 percent of the respondents said they get their information from print media and the remaining seven percent from the radio, he said.
Some 70 percent of the populations use internet in Azerbaijan, and 35 percent of them use broadband internet services.
"Some 300 internet information resources operate in Azerbaijan. About 70 online information portals appeared in the Azerbaijani segment of the internet only in 2013. We have announced 2014 the Year of Information. We plan to organize many activities related to online media, conduct monitoring of internet resources, and regularly present the public with data until the end of this year," Amashov said.
The growing number of internet portals is rooted in the fact that media has migrated from traditional newspapers to the internet today, he believes.
"Today, more than a dozen information portals are members of the Press Council," Amashov said.
The event, organized by Azerbaijan Internet Forum (AIF), Technology Security Center under the ICT Ministry, and Press Council, is aimed at developing an information environment for ensuring cyber security and preventing cyber risks in the internet media.
Participants in the round-table included editors of news portals and websites, and information security experts.
E-security center proposed solution to combat media content stealing
Rashad Aliyev, head of the center's department, said electronic media could solve the problem of unfair use of information content and information theft by their competitors.
E-security center is ready to provide all possible assistance in resolving problems related to information security, and provide the necessary advice and recommendations to prevent the consequences of such problems, he said.
Aliyev pointed to the possibilities of identifying the source of information saying, "Information theft by competitors is a widespread problem faced by the electronic media. To solve this problem, we recommend the services of the monitoring sites," he said.
He also said in most cases e-media are victims of Trojans, which penetrate the system via email, and DDOS-attacks on the web server which can damage the entire system.
"To enhance stability, it is necessary to make regular backups of information content and hold the penetration tests of the site," he said.