The "III National Cybersecurity Forum," organised by the Association of Cybersecurity Organisations of Azerbaijan (ACOA), featured a panel discussion titled "Cyber Diaspora," with the participation of our compatriots working in the fields of cybersecurity and IT abroad.

The panel discussions, moderated by Adil Aliyev, who is currently a software engineer at “Samsung Electronics”, featured prominent professionals including Tural Farhadov, a lead software engineer at “MongoDB”, Sakit Atakishiyev, a software engineer at “Microsoft”, Rashad Suleymanov, a “Threat Hunter” at HSBC, Osman Hajiyev, a software engineer at “EA Electronics”, and Asif Mammadov, a cloud engineer at “Splunk”.

Initially, the discussions focused on the potential role and importance of the cyber diaspora in strengthening our country's cybersecurity ecosystem. The necessary support mechanisms to ensure the cyber diaspora's activities, the contributions its members can make to the development of the field, and the steps required to ensure the sustainability of these efforts and to expand networking among cyber diaspora members were also discussed.

Panel participants proposed several recommendations to further strengthen the country's cybersecurity ecosystem and expand the activities of the cyber diaspora. It was emphasised that members of the cyber diaspora could make significant contributions to expanding experience exchanges, developing teaching resources based on foreign expertise, and providing mentorship support. Additionally, they highlighted the importance of involving cyber diaspora members in training and education processes, identifying research topics, and organising cyber games and competitions to motivate and enhance the competitive skills of young people. The creation of practical laboratory environments in collaboration with higher educational institutions and other initiatives in the field were also discussed as areas where the active involvement of the cyber diaspora would be beneficial. Such involvement was noted to positively impact the strengthening of the country’s talent pool.

It is important to note that "Cyber Diaspora" is a global virtual community and networking platform for professional compatriots working in IT and cybersecurity abroad, launched by ACOA in May of this year. This platform organises the collective activities of our compatriots, forms a community of international experts, and facilitates discussions on new trends and significant issues in the field. Additionally, through this platform, cooperation is fostered by ensuring the sharing of experiences, knowledge, and information among experts living abroad and in our country.