The Western Balkans Hybrid Threat Conference and Simulation Exercise, organised by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), took place from 17 to 20 November 2025. The event brought more than 100 participants to Tirana in Albania from across the Euro-Atlantic community.
“Hybrid threat actors are increasing their influence in the Western Balkans, with several specific incidents reported over the last couple of years – and we expect this trend to continue,” says Martha Turnbull, Director of Community of Interest Hybrid Influence at Hybrid CoE.
In recent years Albania and other Western Balkan states have faced several hybrid threat activities such as cyberattacks, while foreign states and non-state actors have grown increasingly influential in the economic, political and cultural domains of society.
Albania joined Hybrid CoE in June 2024.
“Cyber operations, disinformation and digital espionage are no longer isolated phenomena – they are parts of a unified strategy to weaken democratic systems, distort truth and undermine alliances. The objective is simple but dangerous: to erode confidence in institutions, fragment unity among allies and paralyze decision making before a single shot is fired,” says Dr Igli Tafa General Director of the National Cybersecurity Authority of Albania.
This is the second time Hybrid CoE has organised a region-specific hybrid threat conference and simulation exercise focusing entirely on the Western Balkans. The real-world simulation of how to recognize, respond to and defend against various hybrid threats aimed to build the capacities of democratic states and their populations to counter hybrid threat activities conducted by authoritarian regimes.
“We wanted to bring this event to Tirana to give practitioners and experts from Albania, other Western Balkan countries, including representatives of KFOR and EULEX, the other Hybrid CoE Participating States, the European Union, and NATO an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences of and expertise in countering hybrid threats – both within the region and further afield,” says Shiho Rybski, Director of Training & Exercises at Hybrid CoE.
The Western Balkans Hybrid Threat Conference and Simulation Exercise was organized by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) in close cooperation with the National Cyber Security Authority of Albania (NCSA), and with support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
