WB3C Balkans Regional Conference

11.06.2024

On June 11-12 June, Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) hosted its first regional conference, a landmark event drawing over 100 professionals from the region's public administrations, international bodies, and local stakeholders. The conference, which featured four thematic panels, offered a platform to address the dynamic and pressing challenges in cybersecurity and cyber diplomacy.

Panel Overview:

Panel 1: Cyber Resilience and Critical Infrastructure

Chaired by Lt. Col. Yannick Ragonneau, the first panel set the tone for the conference, focusing on cyber resilience and the protection of critical infrastructure. Representatives from both government and private sectors, including experts from the French Ministry of Interiorand ArcelorMittal, discussed collaborative approaches and best practices for defending essential services and assets.

Panel 2: Evolution of Cybercrime Phenomena and International Criminal Assistance

Colonel Laurent Baille moderated a critical discussion on evolving cyber threats and the necessity of robust international cooperation. The panel highlighted effective strategies for international criminal assistance and the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to create a safer digital environment.

Panel 3: Artificial Intelligence and Ethics in Cybersecurity

Cyber Ambassador Vladimir Vucinic led the third panel, which delved into the impact of AI on global security, responsible usage, and the intertwined challenges of rapid technological advancement and privacy concerns. The dialogue underscored the importance of good data governance and strategic AI adoption in law enforcement and policymaking.

Panel 4: Navigating the Cyber Landscape Through Cyber Diplomacy

The final panel, guided by Tadej Rupel, Slovenia's Cyber and Digital Ambassador, explored the critical aspects of cyber diplomacy. Discussions focused on the EU's role, private sector engagement, and civil society’s contributions to fostering international cyber policy dialogues. This panel highlighted the essential role of entities like ENISA in capacity building and the increasing reliance on AI to support diplomatic efforts, especially for resource-constrained environments.

On Day 2, we focused on the application of the pre-diagnostic tool Diagonal, which was

donated to the Western Balkans administrations. The tool is designed to help administrations:

Assess cyber maturity: Understand the current level of cybersecurity within the administration.
Identify improvements: Suggest both human and technical areas for enhancement.
Collect data: Gather statistical information on prevalent cyber threats.

On 12 June, WB3C instructors provided a workshop to the representatives of the WB6 on the effective use of the tool and its features.

Summary:

The WB3C Regional Conference mapped out the landscape of cybersecurity challenges and opportunities in the Western Balkans. By bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, the conference both provided valuable insights and proposed solutions to certain challenges, and it reinforced the necessity for continued dialogue and cooperation in the cyber domain underpinned by full commitment of governments towards creating a future proof cyber environment.

Other news and events

Building capacity for cryptocurrency investigations

This week, we are running a specialized training on cryptocurrency investigations at WB3C led by our in-house trainer Lieutenant Yannick Casse of the Gendarmerie Nationale.

The five-day program will strengthen the skills of cyber and financial investigators in tracing, analyzing and reporting cryptocurrency transactions using professional tools. Through practical exercises and certification, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how blockchain technology, Bitcoin and Ethereum operate, and how cryptography secures exchanges and transactions.

This training is designed to support law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals in addressing illicit activities involving cryptocurrencies and digital assets and we have 11 participants from all six administrations of the region attending the course. The advantage of this training is that it combines theory, tool-based practice and evaluation. Upon successful completion of the training, WB3C will provide each participant with a 1-year license to the professional software for tracing illicit crypto transactions. These professional investigation tools are essential for uncovering the complex financial trails that criminals attempt to hide behind blockchain anonymity. They allow investigators to visualize transaction flows, link wallet addresses to potential entities and detect patterns of money laundering, fraud or ransomware payments. By integrating such tools into everyday investigative practice, authorities across the Western Balkans can strengthen their operational response, build evidence-based cases and enhance regional cooperation in tackling cryptocurrency-enabled crime.

The mission of the WB3C is not only to provide technical training but also access to professional tools which bring cybersecurity and fight against cybercrime to a whole new level.

Croatia and Western Balkan CERTs Peer Exchange

WB3C is hosting a three-day peer exchange from 20–22 October 2025, bringing together cybersecurity experts from across the region. The group was welcomed by H.E. Peter Felten, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Montenegro and Gilles Schwoerer, Head of WB3C.

This exchange is supported by our partners DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, represented by Lazar Lunic and Sophia Klumpp. We’re especially pleased to welcome to Podgorica the CARNET - Croatian Academic and Research Network representatives Ivana Jelačić and Bruno Varga as guest speakers, sharing Croatia’s experience in strengthening national cybersecurity frameworks and readiness under the NIS2 Directive.

This three-day session focuses on practical cooperation — from information sharing and coordination mechanisms to awareness-raising and a cross-border tabletop exercise (TTX) simulating incident response in the Western Balkans. Collaborative learning like this strengthens our collective resilience and supports progress toward a safer digital future for the region.

Global Cyber Policy Dialogue: Western Balkans

WB3C joined the Global Cyber Policy Dialogue: Western Balkans on 16–17 October in Tirana, hosted by Albania’s National Cyber Security Authority and the Netherlands MFA with ORF America and ASDO.

The meeting gathered 30+ regional stakeholders at the roundtable format to discuss various aspects of capacity building, cooperation and international norms.

Our project manager, Maja Miranovic, delivered a short presentation on WB3C capacity-building work, covering our current courses and our training pipeline for the coming year, including all three pillars. She emphasized the unique value of our regional platform as a neutral hub for technical training and cooperation which serves as a cyber wing of the Berlin Process.

Agenda highlights:

emerging threats and whole-of-society defense;
incident-response tabletop led by Albanian authorities;
UN norms and cyber diplomacy; and a session on scalable capacity-building models.