Cyber Diplomacy: Navigating the Digital Landscape

11.06.2024

As technology continues to advance and cybersecurity becomes a crucial topic in international and regional discussions, cyber diplomacy emerges as a cornerstone of modern foreign policy. Collaboration among governments, the private sector and civil society is essential to address the evolving cyber threats and shape a secure and prosperous cyberspace. With the rise in malicious cyber activities, the role of cyber diplomacy has evolved to address the current threat landscape and engage in global cyber policy discussions.

Panel 4 of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) Regional Conference on 11 June, led by Tadej Rupel, Cyber and Digital Ambassador of Slovenia, discussed some of the critical aspects of international collaboration in the field of cybersecurity such as:

EU's digital diplomacy efforts and their correlation with cyber diplomacy
Private sector contributions to cyber diplomacy in the Western Balkans
Civil society's role in promoting collaboration in cyber diplomacy
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)'s utilization of digital diplomacy in capacity-building in the Western Balkans

Key takeaways provided by our distinguished panelists are:

Multistakeholders such as DiploFoundation, Geneva, support global cyber diplomacy by providing training and capacity-building for diplomats, conducting policy research, facilitating multistakeholder dialogues, and developing resources.
AI can provide valuable assistance to diplomats, especially smaller countries with less resources available, in processing datasets to produce high quality reports.
Private companies like Microsoft play a vital role in cyber diplomacy through public-private partnerships and threat intelligence sharing.
Higher education must incorporate social sciences to align with evolving technologyneeds.
The EU has implemented legislation and legal frameworks to address the changing security landscape and protect the open, free, and stable cyberspace.
ENISA supplements national authorities and agencies through capacity-building and skill development initiatives in both tactical and technical domains.
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs is actively involved in cyber diplomacy by engaging in bilateral and multilateral dialogues to establish norms and transparency, supporting EU-wide cybersecurity efforts, and promoting international cooperation and responsible state behaviour in cyberspace\u200B.

Panelists of this session were: Demosthenes Ikonomou Nikolas Ott Erna Catic Vladimir Radunovic Andreja Mihailovic, PhD Mahé Dersoir

Other news and events

Upcoming

CyberPulse 2025: A Regional RCC Cybersecurity Conference

The Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) is pleased to co-host WB CyberPulse 2025, a high-level regional cybersecurity conference taking place on 2 July 2025 in Podgorica. Organised in partnership with the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the European Commission (EC), the event will bring together key actors from across the Western Balkans and the EU to advance the region’s cyber resilience.

The conference will gather ministers, CERT/CIRT/CSIRT teams, EU institutions, international organisations, financial institutions, private sector leaders and civil society to engage in a structured and forward-looking dialogue.

WB CyberPulse 2025 will focus on:

Addressing current gaps in regional cyber capacities
Exploring the role of emerging technologies
Operationalising joint initiatives and partnerships

As a regional platform for cooperation and knowledge exchange, this conference represents an important step forward in aligning cybersecurity efforts with EU standards and building a more secure digital future for the Western Balkans.

Digital skills for cadets of the Montenegro Police Academy

This week, WB3C is delivering a tailored training on Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) for the second group of 10 cadets from the Police Academy in Danilovgrad, Montenegro. The training follows a recent WB3C visit to the Academy to better understand its curriculum and infrastructure needs.

With limited coverage of digital investigation methods in the Academy’s existing curriculum, WB3C has launched a series of hands-on sessions to build critical skills in cyber-enabled policing. A third group is already scheduled for training in December.

The training was opened by Academy Director Nenad Vojinovic and Head of WB3C Gilles Schwoerer, who explained the importance of digital skills in criminal investigation today and encouraged the cadets to embrace the digital dimension of modern law enforcement.

The course is highly practical and interactive and provides the cadets with techniques to find, extract and preserve open-source evidence in lawful ways. The training is led by WB3C in-house trainers Yannick Casse of the French Gendarmerie and Cyril C. of the French National Police who have substantial experience in the field.

WB3C is very pleased to be able to develop this relationship with the Montenegro Police Academy and contribute to the development of national capacities in tackling cyber crime.

WB3C Mission to Sarajevo

As part of its ongoing commitment to strengthening regional cooperation in cybersecurity, the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) conducted a two-day mission to Sarajevo on 19–20 June.

The visit focused on engaging key national stakeholders who are already benefiting from WB3C training programmes, as well as identifying opportunities for deeper collaboration.

WB3C met with the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Delegation of the European Union, and the Directorate for European Integration to discuss the Centre’s strategic role in supporting regional capacity building and BiH’s participation in EU-aligned cyber initiatives. These discussions emphasized the importance of shared ownership, sustainability, and the active involvement of beneficiary institutions in shaping the Centre’s future direction.

As a follow-up to our May dialogue, WB3C also held a productive meeting with the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Education of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess ongoing training needs and explore tailored programme development for judicial actors.