Developing national capacities to strengthen cybersecurity

Promoting the responsible use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by OSCE participating States was the focus of a two-day training event held in Belgrade, Serbia on 13 and 14 March. With the continued digitalization of societies, states are increasingly using ICTs to pursue their objectives. However, in a borderless domain such as cyberspace, this can lead to misperception and a lack of transparency.

The training event, organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, focused on strengthening national cyber resilience and increasing regional co-operation. This ensures that countries are better prepared for threats from cyberspace and work collectively to address them.

Igor Kuželka, Acting Assistant Minister for Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, underlined “the importance that the Republic of Serbia attaches to cyber security as a complex global and current security challenge. We remain open to all types of international co-operation, especially within the OSCE, as one of the most important partners in this area”

Thirty-three participants from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe participated in the event. Led by expert speakers, participants identified regional capacity-building priorities, promoted the inclusion of non-state actors in national approaches to cybersecurity and provided updates on relevant national developments.

“The OSCE Mission has been actively supporting Serbia in developing activities related to OSCE confidence-building measures such as awareness raising, national strategies and programmes, focal points, capacity building, effective communication channels, private-public partnership, and critical infrastructure,” said Ambassador Jan Braathu, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. “Our partnership is aimed at enhancing Serbia's increased ability to address cybersecurity threats by working closely with national counterparts.”

On the second day, participants engaged in a table-top exercise to explore the practical applicability of the OSCE’s 16 cyber/ICT security confidence-building measures (CBMs). CBMs are practical measures which address misperceptions and misunderstandings in cyberspace by fostering transparency, communication and co-operation between States.

The training event was delivered as part of the “Activities and customized support for the implementation of OSCE cyber/ICT security confidence-building measures” project, with the financial support of the United Kingdom.