Following last week's cybercrime training for police officers in Banja Luka, the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) continued its outreach programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina this week with a specialised training for prosecutors and judges in Sarajevo, 22-24 June 2026.

Delivered in cooperation with the Centre for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEST FBiH), the programme brought together judicial practitioners to strengthen their understanding of cybercrime, digital evidence, open-source intelligence (OSINT), blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. Through a combination of expert-led sessions and practical exercises, participants explored the legal, procedural and evidentiary challenges that increasingly accompany cybercrime cases.

The Sarajevo training builds on the police-focused programme delivered in Banja Luka the previous week and forms part of a broader capacity-building effort developed jointly with institutions across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following extensive consultations with both the Centre for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Interior training structures in Republika Srpska, WB3C designed a tailored programme reflecting the specific needs and operational realities of the country's criminal justice system.

Cybercrime investigations require effective cooperation between investigators, prosecutors and judges. By supporting capacity development across the entire criminal justice chain, WB3C seeks to contribute to a more coordinated and effective response to cybercrime in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What happens when a cyber incident in one organisation starts affecting everyone else?

This week at WB3C, professionals responsible for critical infrastructure from across the Western Balkans worked through that question during an intensive training on Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP). The programme focused not on theory, but on practical decision-making: identifying critical assets, mapping dependencies, assessing risks, developing mitigation measures and managing large-scale cyber crises through simulation exercises.
The training was delivered by experts from the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre (Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (NCSC-NL), bringing operational experience from the frontline of protecting critical infrastructure and essential services. Participants worked through real-world scenarios, explored cross-sector dependencies and developed concrete action plans applicable to their own institutions and national contexts.
As digitalisation accelerates, the resilience of critical infrastructure is becoming a shared responsibility that extends far beyond the cybersecurity community. Strengthening cooperation between governments, operators of essential services, regulators and experts is no longer optional—it is a prerequisite for continuity and security.
The Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) is proud to have hosted this activity in partnership with the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre.
This training was funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
 

This week in Banja Luka, 15-17 June 2026, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Srpska, our cybercrime trainers Yannick Casse and Cyril Corrias worked directly with police officers, delivering a tailored programme on cybercrime investigations, OSINT, digital evidence, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, developed in response to specific needs identified by the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The training combined theory, practical exercises and discussions on emerging challenges facing law enforcement in the digital environment.

For WB3C, this marks an important step in bringing capacity building closer to practitioners. While much of our work takes place at the regional level, we are increasingly supporting our beneficiaries where they operate every day — in their own institutions and countries.

The Banja Luka training is part of a broader outreach effort in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Next week, our team will continue in Sarajevo, where a dedicated programme for prosecutors and judges will be delivered in cooperation with the Justice Academy.

This engagement follows extensive consultations with institutions across Bosnia and Herzegovina, including both the Banja Luka and Sarajevo training academies. Together, we designed a programme that reflects their specific operational realities and training priorities.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's complex administrative structure creates unique challenges for cybersecurity governance and the fight against cybercrime. Strengthening cooperation, skills and institutional capacities across different levels of government is therefore particularly important. We were pleased to be able to respond to the needs identified by our partners and contribute to these efforts.

We also welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina's growing engagement in regional cooperation. The country's participation in the recent ministerial delegation to the Paris Cyber Summit demonstrated a clear interest in contributing constructively to regional cybersecurity dialogue and capacity building.

Supporting institutions where they are, responding to their specific needs, and connecting national efforts with regional cooperation remains at the heart of WB3C's mission.