On July 15 and 16, 2025, Samarkand hosted the regional stage of CyberWeek program – a joint initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the national payment system UZCARD, aimed at developing digital literacy and improving cyber security. Samarkand State University hosted a series of events that brought together representatives of government agencies, the banking sector and the IT industry.
The first day of the program was held at the Silk Road International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage. The focus was on protecting citizens from online fraud, developing cyber culture and resilience to new threats in the digital environment.
At the press conference, representatives of government agencies and fintechs presented an approach to address these challenges.
«No matter how robust a system is, the weakest link in it is a human being. Fraud is not an “if” but a “when”. Today, anyone can be at risk. That’s why this event is first and foremost about people. Not about numbers. Not about codes. It is about you and me, » said Masrurhon Ishonov, UZCARD Internal Control Director.
And on the second day, July 16, a practice-oriented seminar was held, which was attended by employees of commercial banks, government agencies and technology companies. Lecture topics covered:
– architecture of the UZCARD payment system,
– basics of information security,
– current scenarios of digital fraud and methods of their prevention,
– technologies for identifying suspicious transactions.
Speakers were leading specialists of UZCARD, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Bank.
At the event, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UZCARD emphasized: the main threat today is not hackers, but social engineering schemes.
“If a person himself gives a fraudster a code from an SMS, no system will save him. The real barrier must be in the mind,” said Botirjon Shokamolov, UZCARD’s deputy director for information security.
Technical attacks are less common, he said. More often criminals call on behalf of banks, send phishing links and arrange loans in the name of victims.
“Hackers attack systems, and fraudsters attack people. We are not only strengthening defenses, but also teaching cardholders to think critically,” he added.
CyberWeek in Samarkand was part of a large-scale program to develop digital culture and strengthen payment infrastructure. Samarkand is one of the key cities of this initiative: similar events will be held in other regions of the country in the coming months.
The project was launched in Fergana, where it gathered more than 200 participants. The Samarkand stage confirmed the relevance and demand for dialog between government and business in the field of digital security.