From 2 to 6 December 2024, the joint projects of the European Union and of the Council of Europe CyberSEE and CyberEast+, alongside Octopus Project and the Albanian State Police under EMPACT framework, successfully organised a Regional Cybercrime Cooperation Exercise in Tirana, Albania.
This landmark event brought together over 50 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and cybersecurity experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Eastern Partnership countries and Kazakhstan, to tackle realistic cybercrime scenarios that required them to detect, mitigate and investigate complex cyber threats, focusing on hands-on learning in OSINT, malware analysis, digital forensics, and data recovery.
Moreover, the simulation of a real-world technical exercise carried out during the event in partnership with the Albanian National Cyber Security Authority - NCSA, contributed to fostering closer cooperation between the cybersecurity experts (primarily CSIRTs), cybercrime investigators, digital forensics experts and prosecutors.
The Council of Europe through its Cybercrime Programme Office, remains committed to promote the international cooperation through the tools provided by the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and its Second Additional Protocol, to combat cybercrime and strengthen cybersecurity resilience across the region.
Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC)
Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs)
Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention)
Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on Kosovo Declaration of Independence.