Events

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.

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.

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.

In a series of high-level meetings held in Bucharest on 16–17 June, Gilles Schwoerer, Head of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), engaged with several key international stakeholders to explore new avenues of cooperation in the cyber domain.

During the visit, Mr. Schwoerer met with representatives of the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe, the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) – Regional Office, and the Palo Alto Networks South East Europe Office.

Highlights from the visit include:

• With ECCC, WB3C explored the possibility of co-organizing a regional seminar for cybersecurity agencies in the Western Balkans in 2026.
• Discussions with the Council of Europe focused on aligning and coordinating ongoing cybercrime-related initiatives across the region.
• The meeting with Palo Alto Networks explored potential synergies, including integrating their remote learning content into the WB3C Moodle-based training platform.
• With the FCDO Regional Office, talks continued on future collaboration under the cybersecurity pillar, building on earlier exchanges.

These meetings reflect WB3C’s proactive approach to fostering strategic partnerships and reinforcing regional cyber capacity through cooperation, shared expertise, and technology-enhanced learning.

In cooperation with Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za informacijsko varnost (URSIV), WB3C hosted a three day cybersecurity training (10-12 June 2025) for government CIRT professionals from across the Western Balkans. The training focused on cyber threats, incident response and risk management, equipping government IT staff with the tools and knowledge to better protect public institutions and national digital assets.

On Day 3, the national cybersecurity professionals engaged in a practical Capture the Flag (CTF) exercise designed to strengthen incident response capabilities through a live simulated attack.
Why CTFs work as training model?

✔️ Stress-test readiness: Defending systems while clock is ticking
✔️ Unscripted collaboration: Cross-agency teamwork in crisis
✔️ Skills validated, not just taught: Flags are captured and threats neutralized!

CTF demonstrates how immersive simulations bridge theory and practice with controlled real-world scenarios, and build coordinated response protocols. Most importantly, they identify capability gaps in a risk-free environment. 

Once again, thank you to our partner Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za informacijsko varnost (URSIV) for joining Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) in our efforts to support the region, our trainer Gregor Spagnolo, as well as our dedicated participants representing five WB governments. 

 

WB3C organized a study visit to Čikom, one of the leading ICT companies in Montenegro, on 11 June 2025, bringing along our partners from the University of Technology of Troyes (UTT), France and the National Cybersecurity Agency of Slovenia (URSIV), as well as the 15 course participants of the Digital Forensics training programme,  to demonstrate how a SOC team works. We used this opportunity to promote the need for establishing operational exchanges between SOCs and law enforcement to our students, but also to promote our degree programme on digital investigations for police officers to our Čikom partners from the private sector. 

The visit provided an opportunity for Čikom and WB3C to identify areas of cooperation in the cybersecurity pillar including identifying young talent and building public-private partnerships, all aimed at strengthening cyber resilience in the region.  Čikom will provide internship to a student of the University of Caen, France this summer and we are grateful for their readiness to support young talent and provide them with the necessary work experience.  

This week, Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) partnered with UNDP Albania to deliver an intensive Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) training for 20 law enforcement officers and prosecutors from across Albania.

Led by a French expert from Office Anti-Cybercriminalite (OFAC)  the session equipped participants with techniques to gather, analyze and leverage publicly available information for complex cybercrime investigations. 

Why this matters? 

Combatting cybercrime is a core strategic pillar for us. Strengthening the capabilities of regional institutions to investigate and prosecute digital threats is vital both for the security, economic prosperity and the European integration of the region. 

A huge thank you to:
• The committed Albanian officers and prosecutors for their proactive engagement
• UNDP Albania for their invaluable partnership
• Our OFAC expert for sharing critical expertise and real-world insights.

This week, Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) partnered with UNDP Albania to deliver an intensive Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) training for 20 law enforcement officers and prosecutors from across Albania.

Led by a French expert from OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), the session equipped participants with techniques to gather, analyze and leverage publicly available information for complex cybercrime investigations. 

Why this matters? 

Combatting cybercrime is a core strategic pillar for us. Strengthening the capabilities of regional institutions to investigate and prosecute digital threats is vital both for the security, economic prosperity and the European integration of the region. 

A huge thank you to:
• The committed Albanian officers and prosecutors for their proactive engagement
• UNDP Albania for their invaluable partnership
• Our OFAC expert for sharing critical expertise and real-world insights.

WB3C was present at the prestigious Paris Cyber Summit 2-3 June 2025 which convened European and US ministers, policymakers, and cybersecurity experts for a series of high‑level sessions on building trust in the digital age.  Thematic panels addressed critical topics, including:

• Cyber‑defence strategies and resilience of critical infrastructure
• The role of artificial intelligence in both cyberattacks and cybersecurity
• Intelligence‑sharing frameworks to counter hybrid warfare and foreign interference.

WB3C’s attendance - alongside leading national delegations, EU institutions, and private sector leaders, was a great opportunity to create important links and meet potential partners and donors and affirmed our commitment to strengthening regional capabilities in line with EU strategic priorities and international best practices.  Head of WB3C Gilles Schwoerer had the opportunity to meet with the Director of the National Cybersecurity Agency of Moldova, following a visit to WB3C by Mrs Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, who expressed interest in working with WB3C.

Today, WB3C was paid a curtesy visit by Australian Federal Police representatives based at the Australian Embassy in Belgrade, Mr Phillip Anderson and Deputy Head of Mission and Mr Ian Nelson Counsellor.

This visit to WB3C was to see the facilities and initiate a discussion on potential cooperation and support to WB3C's mission. The delegation was met by our in-house trainer on cybercrime Cyril C.