EU Legislation and Public Sector Standards for Cyber

09.09.2025

This week in Bar, Montenegro, DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance and Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) and Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) jointly delivered a three-day regional training on cybersecurity legislation and public-sector standards.
The event gathered representatives from across the Western Balkans’ public administrations — an opportunity to connect networks, exchange practices, and strengthen a common regional approach to cybersecurity capacity. The programme was funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with Melanie Moffat from the British Embassy Podgorica attending the training.

Day 1 opened with remarks from Franziska Klopfer (DCAF) and Gilles Schwoerer (Head of WB3C). In his opening address, Gilles underlined that WB3C is not just a centre in Podgorica, but a regional platform designed as a resource for the entire Western Balkans — built for the region, to be used by the region. The day continued with sessions on EU legislation and certification frameworks, including insights into Italy’s cybersecurity architecture and the functions of the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency (Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale).
🔹 Day 2 brought a broader audience, as more participants from the ReSPA network joined. Bojana Bajić (ReSPA) joined Franziska and Gilles in addressing the group, stressing the importance of cooperation across institutions in the process of advancing cybersecurity capabilities and aligning normative frameworks with EU standards. Participants then heard from the National Cybersecurity Authority of Greece, explored digital competencies for public administration, and worked on designing cybersecurity training curricula for civil servants, IT staff, and managers.
🔹 On Day 3, the sessions will turn to national practices, with contributions from Serbia’s National Academy for Public Administration and the Civil Service Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, offering concrete models for embedding cybersecurity into public administration training systems.
Together with DCAF and ReSPA, and with the support of FCDO, this training strengthened the foundations for a more resilient public sector across the Western Balkans, aligned with the region’s needs and EU accession priorities.

Other news and events

Combatting Disinformation and FIMI

A very productive meeting this morning with the Atlantic Council of Montenegro, led by Mr. Savo Kentera, President and CEO, together with his team Azra Karastanović and Draško Jabučanin. The Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) was represented by its Head Gilles Schwoerer and the team: Vanja Madzgalj MBE, Cyril C. and Yannick Casse.

Building on our previous engagements, including the national Round Table on Critical Infrastructure and the 2BS Forum, WB3C is further strengthening this collaboration to address pressing regional challenges.

Our discussions highlighted significant common interests in two crucial areas: critical infrastructure resilience and countering disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

This prospective partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening regional security and societal resilience against interference and information manipulation. We look forward to developing concrete actions and contributing meaningfully to these important efforts.

Developing Future Cyber Talent Through Early Interventions in Schools

WB3C paid a visit to the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation this week. We met with the State Secretary Calasan Tatjana to introduce WB3C’s work and share an overview of our plans for 2026, with a focus on education, young people and cooperation with universities. We talked about practical ways to support foundational awareness and cyber skills in schools and development of academic learning pathways such as micro-credentials and new degree programmes in cybersecurity and digital forensics in universities.

The meeting was also a chance to update the Ministry on how WB3C is developing as an international organization and how our role in Montenegro and the region is growing, as well as to explore how we could work more closely in the future.
We appreciated the open and constructive exchange, and the shared understanding that investing early in digital skills and cyber awareness really matters.
Looking forward to continuing the conversation and building on this momentum.

Cyber Hygiene Training for Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro

Today we start a short CyberHygiene training for colleagues at Montenegro’s Ministry of European Affairs. The training is led by WB3C-s in-house trainers Cyril C. and Yannick Casse.
Over the two days, we will work through the threats civil servants face most often — phishing, malware/ransomware and social engineering — and the practical habits that reduce risk without needing to advance technical skills such as: safer daily practices, data confidentiality and clear incident response basics.
A reminder worth repeating: cyber hygiene is organizational hygiene. Firewalls and policies help, but day-to-day resilience is built in small decisions made across the institution. Every civil servant counts.
A simple checklist that pays off:
⚠️ Pause before you click (especially “urgent” emails)
⚠️ Use strong passwords/passphrases + multi-factor authentication where available
⚠️ Keep devices and apps updated
⚠️ Report suspicious activity early—speed matters

Director Gilles Schwoerer greeted the participants by emphasizing that cybersecurity culture doesn’t start in the IT department, but it starts in each inbox. We are very pleased to welcome the behind-the-scenes force driving Montenegro's successful advancement towards the EU accession and to share that WB3C is expecting its first multi-year EU grant in March this year, aimed at supporting the region in meeting the requirements from the cyber agenda and strengthening its overall resilience, especially its critical infrastructure. We look forward to joining forces with ministries around the region in 2026 - a year expected to bring a dynamic plan of activities.