Amnesty International reveals the government of Azerbaijan was relying on homemade malware to spy on the digital activities of dissidents since November 2015; Virtual Road reports distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS); it also reports of a dedicated equipment monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic at delta Telecom (government internet backbone); the same equipment also keeps track of each of the TCP sessions independently of port number, tracking both HTTP and HTTPS sessions associated with azadliq.info, azadliq.org, and meydan.tv news sites; Azadliq.info blocked using deep packet inspection (DPI) technology; Access to five independent and opposition websites is blocked; Users complain of difficulties accessing VoP services including Skype, Vibes and WhatsApp during Islamic Solidarity Games. Once the games are over, the Ministry of Technologies, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan confirms temporary restrictions were introduced as part of security measures; Organizers and participants report internet accessibility issues during September and October opposition rallies; The first case of facial recognition cameras being used during an anti-corruption rally on September 23, 2017, are reported; Lawmakers introduce new legal restrictions and fines for the dissemination of banned information online
