WB3C at Microsoft Cybersecurity Bootcamp in Valencia

11.10.2025

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.

Other news and events

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.

WB3C Joins EUROPOL Conference on Cybercrime

WB3C joined Europol’s Cybercrime Conference in the Hague last week, contributing to the panel on “Moving towards global cooperation.”
Our Program Director and Head of WB3C, Gilles Schwoerer, presented the WB3C’s journey and its recent evolution into an international organization, and showcased our degree programs on criminal investigations delivered with the Université de Technologie de Troyes.

Key takeaways:
➡️ Stronger bridges are needed between law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and the regional cybersecurity community.
➡️ Case debriefs underscored how public–private cooperation accelerates major cybercrime investigations.
➡️ New collaboration tracks opened with: Université Grenoble Alpes, University of Lodz, European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC).

Thank you to the organizers and partners for the insightful exchanges. WB3C will continue to connect LEAs with other government branches and industry, but also with academia, in order to support the cyber ecosystem in the Western Balkans.