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The regional Cybersecurity Winter School (1-5 December 2014) organised by DCAF and DiploFoundation, gathered 28 participants from the Western Balkans and Moldova in the picturesque Petnica Youth Research Center, 100 km from Belgrade. Participants were junior officials from public institutions related to IT or security (including ministries of interior, defense, telecoms, and the information society, telecom regulatory authorities, etc.) as well as from universities, NGOs, and the corporate sector.
Leading up to this week’s training, they followed a two-month online course and discussion. The capacity development will continue with a policy research phase in which all participants will work on a policy brief related to cybersecurity. The training curriculum dealt with how the Internet works; identified the main online threats (like malware, social engineering, or botnets); explored key challenges in the cooperation against cybercrime, highlighted risks from cyberspace related to national critical infrastructure; focused on, protection mechanisms; and discussed realities related to warfare in cyberspace and to cyberterrorism, including the definition of cyberwar and the application of international law to conflicts in cyberspace. The group also discussed strategic cooperation mechanisms for regional cybersecurity.
This capacity development programme will facilitate the creation of a community of practice in the Western Balkans by identifying, training, and providing networking opportunities for young and upcoming leaders from the region.
The format combines interactive lectures, simulations, and case studies. A team of distinguished experts and professionals includes Prof. Dr Henrik Kaspersen, Prof. Em. Computer/Law, and one of those instrumental in the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime; Gorazd Bošič, Team Manager of the Slovenian CERT (SI-CERT) and a member of the Management Board of ENISA; John Crain, Chief Security of Stability & Resiliency Officer of ICANN; Col. Aapo Cederberg, Senior Advisor in the Geneva Centre for Security Policy; Marwan Ben Rached, a Cybersecurity Project Officer in the ITU; and Predrag Tasevski, one of founders of CyberSecurity.mk. The programme was conceptualised and led by Vladimir Radunović, director of cybersecurity at DiploFoundation. The programme is financially supported by the Swiss Ministry of Defense.
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For more information about the Cybersecurity Winter School please contact terezah@diplomacy.edu
Course Announcement
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and DiploFoundation organise a “Cybersecurity Winter School” for public officials, corporate sector representatives, graduate students or members of civil society or the media from the Western Balkans or Moldova. DCAF, in partnership with DiploFoundation and with the support of the Swiss Ministry of Defence, organise a training workshop on cybersecurity.
The workshop is a component of “the Young Faces Network” framework of DCAF, which includes a distance learning component, a five-day workshop focusing on policy issues of cybersecurity, and a policy research component. In particular the programme aims to introduce and analyse technical, legal and political aspects of cybersecurity, as well as critically evaluate policy issues, such as protection of critical infrastructure, cybercrime and cyber-conflicts. The activities also intend to facilitate the creation of a community of practice in the Western Balkans by identifying, training and providing networking opportunities for young and upcoming leaders from the region.
For more information about the programme, visit here.
