9-10 June 2025 - Consultation visit to Albania

As part of the EU-funded CBRN CoE Project 101, a successful consultative visit to Albania was conducted to assess national capabilities in the protection and (cyber-)security of CBRN-critical infrastructures.

Over two intensive days (9-10 June 2025), the P101 Experts met with key institutions across chemical, biological, radiological/nuclear (CBRN) domains including:

✅ Ministries of Environment, Health, and Defence

✅ Albanian State Police 

✅ Radiation Protection Office 

✅ Institutes of: 

- Applied Nuclear Physics

- Public Health 

- Food Safety & Veterinary 

- Scientific Police

Site visits included:

✅ National radioactive waste storage facility

✅ Infectious disease and chemical laboratories

✅ Veterinary and food safety research infrastructure

A dedicated session with the Cybercrime Directorate and digital forensics teams focused on Albania’s institutional arrangements, threat monitoring, and law enforcement response to cyber incidents affecting CBRN critical infrastructure.

🇦🇱 Albania stands out as a regional leader in #cyber #resilience, demonstrating a robust and evolving architecture that includes:

🔹 Fully operational Security Operations Centers (SOCs)

🔹 A centralized Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT/AL-CIRT)

🔹 Coordinated Cyber Incident Response Teams (CIRTs) across sectors

A key innovation is the creation of a #Cyber #Security #Laboratory by the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) — a state-of-the-art simulation platform used by national and sectoral SOCs to train for complex digital threats. This includes realistic Red Team–Blue Team cyber-attack simulations, live incident response and forensic analysis drills, and an innovative Cyber Escape Room — all focused on protecting critical infrastructure like energy systems and smart city IoT from complex, cross-border cyber threats.

Grateful to the Albanian authorities for their openness and commitment. Many thanks also to the CBRN National Focal Point - Ms. Magina Kuburja, the UNICRI Regional Secretariat represented by Talgat Toleubayev and the OSA SEEE (On-site Technical Assistance) Expert Elza Metopishvili for their support.

P101 is implemented by ISTC (International Science and Technology Center) and funded by the 🇪🇺 European Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) with the support from UNICRI - United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the JRC - Joint Research Centre.