Video overview of the WB Cyber Connect 2025

At #WBCyberConnect2025, organised by the e-Governance Academy in cooperation with CybExer Technologies, participants from the Western Balkan region trained in a game-net environment, designed to simulate the interconnected parts of a real-world IT infrastructure.

Have a look at the short video highlighting the exercise:

Behind every #cyber exercise is a carefully engineered scenario built from real-world threat intelligence and the principles that guide modern cyber response.

The exercise scenarios were built on four key foundations:

• Real-world threat intelligence

The architects of the exercise used real-life security flaws to show how attackers break in, move through a system and stay inside. They also added a custom piece of ransomware and other standard attack methods, all to ensure that participants learned to identify and respond to the same patterns seen in real-world cyber incidents.

• Realistic environments

The teams worked inside a full cyber range, which replicated real-world organisations: public-facing services, office networks, cloud systems and critical infrastructure. This allowed participants to investigate logs, trace anomalies and use professional monitoring tools in a safe and realistic setting.

• Pressure and quick decision-making

Attacks unfolded continuously, requiring teams to prioritise alerts, separate real threats from false alarms, document incidents and make fast tactical decisions. It mirrors the pressure organisations face during real cyber crises.

• Collaboration

The teams shared threat indicators, coordinated defensive actions and prepared situation reports. #Cybersecurity professionals must collaborate across institutions and borders to effectively manage complex and rapidly evolving cyber incidents.

Above all, the key purpose of the exercise was to build trust, establish shared practices and strengthen operational cooperation across the Western Balkans. In a region where infrastructure is interconnected, collective preparedness matters more than competition!

The WB Cyber Connect 2025 technical exercise was organised under the EU-funded #CyberBalkans project.