It was a privilege to welcome so many distinguished colleagues, partners, and new collaborators to the Cyber Capacity Building Workshop, jointly hosted by World Economic Forum Cybersecurity and Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) on 19-20 May .

The workshop brought together a remarkable group of cybersecurity professionals, policymakers and private sector leaders and educators for two days of focused discussions on issues: cyber talent shortage and international collaboration in disrupting cybercrime. 

Mr. Marash Dukaj, Minister of Public Administration of Montenegro, who opened the event with a keynote, following the welcome speech by Gilles Schwoerer, Head of WB3C, emphasized the urgency of strengthening cyber capabilities across the Western Balkans. This was followed by insights from a high-level panel featuring:
-Dušan Polović, Ministry of Public Administration, Montenegro
-Ivan Boskovic, e-Commerce Association of Montenegro
-Jelena Zelenovic Matone, European Investment Bank, and
-Rob Rashotte, Fortinet (Canada), 
who bring vast experience and knowledge from their global operations.
The panel was moderated by Natasa Perucica, World Economic Forum, Lead for capacity building at the WEF Cybersecurity Centre.

The programme continued in two parallel tracks:
🔹 Stream 1 focused on building and retaining cybersecurity talent, with speakers from Accenture, Check Point, Université de Troyes, Fortinet, National Cybersecurity Authority of Saudi Arabia, and the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. 

During the workshop, the World Economic Forum also presented two key publications that offer practical insights into developing the cybersecurity workforce:
Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eZ9mFTyt
Growing Cyber Talent Through Public-Private Partnerships
🔗 https://lnkd.in/gQ8xczpM

Both publications highlight proven approaches, success stories and lessons from global partnerships that are highly relevant for the Western Balkans and beyond.
🔹 Stream 2 explored operational collaboration against cybercrime, with contributions from Europol EC3, Sekoia.io, Standard Chartered, and the World Economic Forum’s Cybercrime Atlas Initiative.
Across both streams, discussions were practical and constructive—examining the realities of cyber workforce shortages, the anatomy of current threats, and the importance of trust and cross-border cooperation.
Gilles Schwoerer, provided a brief overview of the Centre’s three pillars—cybersecurity, cybercrime, and cyberdiplomacy—emphasizing the importance of partnerships in advancing this collaborative effort.

A sincere thank you to all speakers, contributors, and participants for your openness and energy throughout the workshop. We are especially grateful to our partners at the World Economic Forum for their support in building cyber resilience of the Western Balkans.

The Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Center (WB3C) is proud to announce its collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to host the region’s first Cyber Capacity Building Workshop on 19-20 May 2025 in Podgorica. This high-level gathering will convene global experts and regional stakeholders to strengthen the Western Balkans’ cybersecurity resilience through two critical streams: addressing the cyber talent shortage and enhancing collaborative strategies against cybercrime.  

A Convergence of Global and Regional Expertise 

The workshop will feature contributions from an exceptional roster of international and regional leaders, including:  

Opening remarks: Mr Gilles Schwoerer, WB3C Programme Director

Keynote Speaker: Mr Marash Dukaj, Minister of Public Administration of Montenegro  

Opening panel: Cybersecurity in the Western Balkans: Bridging global practices with local needs

Dušan Polović, General Director at the Directorate for Infrastructure, Information Security, Digitalization and E-services at the Ministry of Public Administration (Montenegro)

Rob Rashotte, Vice-President, Global Training and Technical Field Enablement, Fortinet (Canada)

Jelena Zelenovic Matone, Chief Information Security Officer, European Investment Bank (Luxembourg)

Samuel Hassine, Chief Executive Officer, Filigran (France)

Ivan Bošković, President of e-Commerce Association of Montenegro

Moderator: Nataša Perućica, Lead for Capacity Building, Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum         

Stream 1: Addressing the Cyber Talent Shortage

- Nataša Perućica, Lead for Capacity Building, Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum         

- Dana Berman, Manager, Strategic Business Development & Marketing - Cybersecurity Services, Check Point Software Technologies (Israel)  

- Denise Cassidy, EMEA Security HR Lead, Accenture (Ireland)  

- Giuseppe Cinque, Principal Architect, Cisco Digital Impact Office, Cisco Systems (Italy)  

- Reza Elgalai, Université Technologique de Troyes (France)  

- Rob Rashotte, Vice-President, Global Training and Technical Field Enablement, Fortinet (Canada)  

- Abdullah Albaiz, General Manager for Human Capital Development, National Cybersecurity Authority of Saudi Arabia  

- Grace Boyling, Senior Policy Advisor on International Cyber Skills, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology  

- Mark Mannheim, Programme Manager, Cybersecurity and Digital Identity Directorate, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology  

- Jakub Olszewski, Head of Skills Academies, Standard Chartered Bank (United Kingdom)  

Stream 2: Collaborative Strategies Against Cybercrime

- Sean Doyle, Cybercrime Atlas Initiative, World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity 

- Alex Wloch, Senior Analyst, Active Threat Monitoring, Standard Chartered Bank (United Kingdom)  

- Céline Louyat, Inspector, Public Finance, AGRASC (France)  

- Livia Tirbina, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, Sekoia.io (France)

- James Gill, Global Head, Cyber Threat Response, Banco Santander (Spain)  

- Jakub Olszewski, Head of Skills Academies, Standard Chartered Bank (United Kingdom)  

- Jelena Zelenovic Matone, Chief Information Security Officer, European Investment Bank (Luxembourg)  

- Paul-Alexandre Gillot, J-CAT Coordinator, Europol EC3 (France)  

- Samuel Hassine, CEO, Filigran (France)  

Why This Workshop Matters

Recent data reveals alarming trends in the Western Balkans:  

- A 40% increase in cyber incidents since 2023  

- A 200% surge in ransomware attacks between 2022-2024  

- A critical shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals  

This workshop will tackle these challenges head-on by:  

- Developing actionable strategies to attract, train, and retain cybersecurity talent in the region  

- Strengthening operational collaboration between law enforcement, governments, and private sector leaders  

- Aligning regional efforts with global frameworks like WEF’s Strategic Cybersecurity Talent Framework and Cybercrime Disruption Framework

Join the Conversation  

While attendance is by invitation only, organizations interested in contributing to the Western Balkans’ cybersecurity resilience efforts are encouraged to contact us for more information on info@wb3c.org.  

Over the past two weeks, law enforcement professionals from across the Western Balkans have continued their journey in mastering digital forensic techniques as part of the one-year university-level course delivered by the University of Technology of Troyes (UTT).

This programme, acredited by the French Ministry of Higher Education, tailored for criminal investigators, focuses on equipping participants with practical and theoretical tools for conducting effective digital investigations. Final exams are scheduled for November, and we are pleased to see strong progress and engagement from all students.

We thank our partners from XRATOR – a trusted French cybersecurity firm specializing in advanced security audits and continuous threat exposure management – for their support in delivering critical expertise to the programme.

The next 2-week session scheduled in June will continue building capabilities that directly strengthen the region’s fight against cybercrime.