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ITU Cybersecurity Forum and CyberDrill for Europe 2026

The 2026 ITU Cybersecurity Forum and CyberDrill for Europe is scheduled to be held from 09 to 11 December 2026 in Skopje, North Macedonia, under the theme “Cyber Resilience in the AI Era and Emerging Technologies: From Policy and Preparedness to Incident Response and Industry Action.” The event is organized by the International Telecommunication Union and hosted by the Agency for Electronic Communications (AEK) of North Macedonia, within the framework of the ITU Regional Initiative for Europe on trust and confidence in the use of telecommunications/information and communication technologies, as agreed upon by the 2025 World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC‑25).

OBJECTIVES

Across three days, the event will move from strategic dialogue to practical capacity building and scenario‑based exercises, connecting policy, operational preparedness and industry action to strengthen cyber resilience across Europe.

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

The first day will be dedicated to the Cybersecurity Forum, bringing together three key communities, including policymakers, the CERT/CSIRT community and the private sector, to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. The discussions will explore whether European policy and governance frameworks are ready for an increasingly AI-driven cyber environment, whether operational defences can respond at machine speed to increasingly automated and AI-enabled threats, and how security, resilience and trust can be built into the evolving AI ecosystem.  The second day will focus on technical capacity building for CERT/CSIRT professionals, providing practical training in key areas of cybersecurity preparedness and response.

The third day will conclude with scenario-based CyberDrill exercises, enabling participants to apply their knowledge in realistic cyberattack scenarios, strengthen incident response capabilities and foster cooperation and cross-learning among the regional cybersecurity community.

STRUCTURE AND METHODOLOGY

The ITU CyberDrill is designed to provide participants with focused sessions that revolve around four main thematic concepts: Reflect, Share, Learn and Practice.

Reflect: Bring together the global cybersecurity community to review major regional cybersecurity trends and consider improvements based on the five pillars of ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) and the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI).
Share: Promote knowledge sharing of beneficial communication networks, and exchange funding stream resources.
Learn: Build capacity for the CSIRT communities within incident response and critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP).
Practice: Test key operational resiliency concepts across CSIRT/CIRT/CERT community.

EVENT INFORMATION

	09 – 11 December 2026 Skopje, North Macedonia
	Registration Invitation letter Draft agenda

PARTICIPATION AND TARGET AUDIENCE

Online registration is required to participate in the three-day event.
Participating organizations are encouraged to nominate at least two CIRT members and one senior cybersecurity manager to take part in the CyberDrill.

Please note that this event has been specifically designed for participants from the European region to ensure focused discussions and regionally relevant context. As such, registrations from outside the European region may not be accepted. We encourage interested participants from other regions to consult the relevant regional pages to find events tailored to their specific context.

As capacity is limited, early registration is recommended and a first‑come, first‑served policy will apply.
Please note that this event will be held in a paperless format.

FELLOWSHIPS

Please refer to the ITU Fellowships Portal for the Policy for awarding fellowships for events and activities funded through the ITU regular budget and for the list of Member States eligible to receive ITU fellowships. The deadline for fellowships is 28 October 2026.

The decision criteria to grant a fellowship include:

available ITU budget;

equitable distribution among countries and regions;

gender balance and the inclusion of persons with disabilities and persons with specific needs.

Subject to the availability of funds, one full fellowship or two partial fellowships may be awarded per eligible Member State of the Europe region. To request a fellowship:

the participant must first register to the meeting and obtain focal point approval.

Applications must be submitted using the ITU Cybersecurity Forum and CyberDrill for Europe Fellowship Application Form (ITU Regular Budget), in accordance with the submission guidelines provided therein.

Any application received after this deadline will not be considered.

For further information, please contact fellowships@itu.int