WB3C partners with World Economic Forum

19.05.2025

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.

World-Economic-Forum-Workshop-AGENDA.pdf

Other news and events

WB3C at Microsoft Cybersecurity Bootcamp in Valencia

A highly productive week in Valencia at the 5th Edition of the Valencia Cybersecurity Bootcamp, organized by Microsoft. It was a privilege for the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) to participate in this esteemed gathering.
The bootcamp provided a platform for in-depth dialogue on pressing global cyber issues. The sessions - from AI and cybersecurity to incident response and international law in cyberspace - offered valuable insights into the current digital security landscape. Engaging with such a distinguished group of professionals, including diplomats, legal experts and technical leaders from organizations like FIRST, OAS and the UN, was immensely beneficial.

Our colleagues, Gilles Schwoerer, Head of WB3C, and Vanja Radović, Project Assistant, representing the Centre, joined by colleagues from the region Marija Matić of the Ministry of Interior, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lendita Haxhitasim, a diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kosovo*, were pleased to engage with the global cybersecurity community and bring some interesting insights and best practices back to the Western Balkans.
As a young woman in cybersecurity, Vanja Radović noted: "As a newcomer to this field, the bootcamp was a fantastic opportunity for professional development and expanding my horizons. Learning from leading experts and connecting with peers from around the world was incredibly valuable for our work at the Centre and for me personally."
Thank you to Microsoft and all the organizers for a well-designed and effective event.

Combating Migrant Smuggling - Training for Air and Border Police

Combating migrant smuggling requires cutting-edge skills and cross-border collaboration. That’s why the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) expert team was on the ground, training seven officers from the Montenegrin Air and Border Police.

Together with OLTIM - Office for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Migrants (French investigative unit for tracking and dismantling migrant smuggling), we equipped them with foundation tools to tackle modern threats:
✅ Using OSINT & Dark Web research to track criminal networks;
✅ Uncovering the sale of fake documents and tracing illicit financial flows.

Proud to support our partners in building skills for a safer region. International cooperation and capacity building are key to combating cross-border crime and dismantling the criminal networks behind migrant smuggling.

Western Balkans Digital Summit 2025

We were honoured to participate in the annual Western Balkans Digital Summit in Skopje, a core side-event of the Berlin Process that sets the stage for the upcoming Western Balkans Leaders' Summit. The event featured high-level dialogues with prominent voices, including the European Commission, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), ministers responsible for digital transformation and cybersecurity from across the region, and leading European experts. These conversations reinforced the critical link between regional security and digital transformation.
This gathering was a powerful reminder that regional security and digital transformation go hand-in-hand. It's clear that cybersecurity is no longer a standalone technical issue, but the essential trust-builder that enables integration across digital services, critical sectors and ultimately, with the EU's single market.
We were proud to see our WB3C cybercrime trainer, Yannick Casse, take the stage on a panel dedicated to cybersecurity solutions. He presented the WB3C as the primary regional hub for building cyber capabilities and the essential platform for fostering cross-border cooperation, the key enabler for implementing regional cybersecurity policies and fight against cybercrime.

Beyond the panel, our colleagues Vanja Madzgalj MBE and Guillaume Narjollet used the opportunity to hold productive meetings with our key stakeholders and expand our network with new contacts, reinforcing the partnerships that are central to our mission.

The message in Skopje was clear: collaboration is our greatest asset. We return energized to continue our work across cybersecurity, cybercrime and cyberdiplomacy, looking with enthusiasm into our work plan for the next three months, which will bring some exciting activities with ransomware as the central theme.