During a recent mission to Prishtina, WB3C joined CIVIPOL colleagues working on a Gap and Needs Assessment related to the protection of critical infrastructure and public spaces.
While the CIVIPOL assessment focused particularly on the institutional and legislative framework, including the role of the Ministry of Interior and alignment with the EU Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive, WB3C used the opportunity to engage directly with critical infrastructure operators and better understand their operational needs.
Together with Shkumbin Saneja from the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Administration, WB3C met representatives from several key sectors: Arijeta Pajaziti Qerimi and Uran Thaci from energy, Adelina Dumani-Hulaj from Prishtina International Airport, Gazmend Gashi from transport/aviation, Arianit Maraj from telecommunications and Arbnor Imeri from the banking sector.
The discussion provided a useful cross-sector view of existing gaps, operational needs and capacity-building priorities. Despite the differences between sectors, a number of common areas of interest emerged.
This forms part of a wider regional process. WB3C will continue meeting key critical infrastructure stakeholders across the Western Balkans to better understand both sector-specific and shared needs, and to use these findings to shape a training and capacity-building plan tailored to the realities operators are facing.
This work is being carried forward in synergy with our partners under the EU-funded CEPS project, linking institutional assessments with the operational perspective of those responsible for running and protecting critical services.
 

 Yesterday, we wrapped up “We just got hacked”, a basic three-day technical training on incident response for entry level system administrators and cybersecurity specialists from regional public institutions to work through what happens after a security alert becomes a real incident: how to triage it, identify what matters first, analyse logs, trace the likely attack vector and examine suspicious files for indicators of compromise. 

Participants worked with the MITRE ATT&CK framework, connecting investigative findings with attacker tactics and techniques, and looking at how those findings can be translated into practical hardening and preventive measures. The objective was not simply to understand how an incident happened, but to use that analysis to reduce the organisation’s exposure to similar attacks in the future. 
The training was delivered by Jakub Bajera and Krzysztof Chudzik from NASK – Naukowa i Akademicka Sieć Komputerowa / Research and Academic Computer Network, Poland. We also thank our funding partners at URSIV, Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za informacijsko varnost for their continued support to WB3C and to the development of cybersecurity capacities across the Western Balkans.
Certificates are awarded by Jean-Pierre Bonnet, JP BNT, our new WB3C colleague working across cybercrime and cybersecurity.

We are pleased to welcome Jean-Pierre Bonnet, who joins the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) as a trainer working primarily in the field of cybercrime, while also contributing to the Centre’s cybersecurity activities.

Jean-Pierre began his career in the French Gendarmerie, initially serving in a mobile unit responsible for public-order operations and overseas deployments. He later moved into criminal investigations, progressively specialising in cybercrime-related fields and, in his most recent assignment, working on complex investigations across France.

His professional experience includes open-source intelligence (OSINT), digital forensics and Internet investigations, alongside training and knowledge-sharing with partner administrations in France. He is also completing a long-term professional training programme in cybersecurity and governance, further broadening the expertise he brings to WB3C.

At the Centre, Jean-Pierre will work with partners across the Western Balkans to support the development of skills and operational knowledge in cybercrime, while contributing with the wider team to the continued development of WB3C’s activities.

Welcome to the team, Jean-Pierre!