Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, 16-20 September 2013

The Workshop on NATO Security Policy for Non-NATO Nations and International Organizations’ Security (NNEs/IOs) Officers was held on 16-20 September 2013 in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, in organization by the NATO Office of Security (NOS) and the National Security Authority of the Republic of Slovenia. The Directorate for Security of Classified Information took part in the workshop with one representative.

The emphasis at the workshop was on the training of the NNEs/IOs security officers for facilitating the implementation of the NATO Security Policy in the Non-NATO Nations and International Organizations.

Prague, 7-10 October 2013

In the period from 7 to 10 October 2013 three representatives of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information accomplished a study visit to the National Security Authority of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with the TAIEX instrument of the European Commission. The aim of the study visit was to exchange and obtain new experiences related to the security accreditation and certification of the communication and information systems.

10-11 September 2013, Sofia

On 10-11 September 2013 three representatives of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information accomplished a study visit to the State Commission for Security of Information of the Republic of Bulgaria, organized with support of the European Commission TAIEX instrument. The aim of the study visit was to obtain practical experiences related to the performing of inspections of the implementation of the document security criteria and measures at the registries and control points for classified information.

Skopje, July 2013

Upon invitation of the National Security Authority of Hungary, the members of the Delegation of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for negotiating agreements for exchange and mutual protection of classified information on bilateral basis with other countries, led by the Director of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information, will visit Budapest on 4 September 2013.

The meeting of the two authorized delegations will represent the first phase of the bilateral negotiations for harmonizing the text of the agreement for exchange and mutual protection of classified information between the governments of the Republic of Macedonia and of Hungary.

Balaton, Hungary, 4 October 2013

The Director of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information, will participate in the Third Conference on Information Security and Cyber Defence (ISCD 2013) of the National Security Authority of Hungary, to be held on 2-3 September 2013 in Balatonőszöd, Hungary.

This year the forum will focus on the changes of national and international legislative backgrounds and the challenges of the wide-spread usage of mobile devices. During the panel discussions the event will highlight aspects of allocating human resources as a significant tool of protection rather than a risk factor.

Ljubljana, 15-16 July 2013

On 15-16 July 2013 three representatives of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information accomplished a Study Visit to the National Security Authority of Slovenia, organized with support of the European Commission TAIEX instrument.

The topic of the Study Visit was the development of the NSA Cloud project from the aspect of preparation of the project documentation and its practical implementation.

Skopje, 2-3 July 2013

On 2-3 July 2013 in Skopje, in co-operation with the European Commission and its TAIEX instrument, the Directorate for Security of Classified Information held a workshop on “The treatment of classified information during investigation, prosecution and other legal proceedings”.

Around 60 representatives of the courts and prosecution offices in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as of the Association Bar, took part in the workshop. The pool of lecturers included an EUROPOL representative and representatives of the national security authorities of Macedonia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Spain and Bulgaria.

Ohrid, 10-13 June 2013

Three representatives of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information participated in the NATO workshop on advanced research for development of the cyber-defence policy was held on 10-13 June 2013 in Ohrid.

The lectures were prepared and given by the distinguished academics, professors from the Norwich University from the USA, which was also a co-organizer of the workshop, professors from St. Cyril and Methodius University – Skopje, the St. Apostol Pavle University – Ohrid, from the Military Academy General Mihailo Apostolski – Skopje, from universities from Moldova, Greece, Croatia and other member countries of the Alliance, as well as a professor from the NATO Training Centre in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany.

The aim of the workshop was to transfer the educational and research experiences and practices, as well as their comparison with concrete experiences of the ministries in the Republic of Macedonia. In this sense, the pool of participants in the workshop included representatives of the Directorate for Security of Classified Information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Macedonia.

The agenda for the workshop also included educational exercises aimed at determining the position and the competences of the entities and the institutions within the state related to the development and implementation of the cyber defence strategy, and to the positioning and establishing communication with other such entities in the state and wider.

Washington D.C., 3-7 June 2013

Upon the invitation of the Director of the International Security Programs at the Office of the US Undersecretary of Defense, Mr. Peter R. Batten, the Delegation of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for negotiating agreements for exchange and mutual protection of classified information on bilateral basis with other countries paid a return visit to Washington D.C. in the period from 3 to 7 June 2013. During the visit, the members of the Macedonian governmental delegation were introduced to the handling of classified information and the procedures for its protection since the passing of the security policy on protection of classified information till the immediate implementation of the procedures by the end users.

The Macedonian delegation had successful discussions on the establishing of security criteria and measures for protection of classified information from the aspect of the document security, physical security, industrial security, information security and personnel security, as well as on the possibilities for further enhancing of the bilateral cooperation between the two states in the field of classified information. At the end of the visit, the Delegation of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia presented its conclusions about the held meetings in front of the host and gave its view on the conditions for protection of classified information that the Republic of Macedonia should release to the USA after concluding the bilateral security agreement.

Durres, 27 -29 May 2013

The Third Conference of the South East European National Security Authorities (SEENSA) took place on 27-29 May 2013 in Durres, Republic of Albania. The conference was attended by the heads and representatives of the National Security Authorities of the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Montenegro, Romania, Republic of Slovenia and Republic of Serbia, as well as by the NATO Office of Security Director, Mr. Stephen Smith.

The focus of the conference was placed on the reports of the four thematic working groups (TWG) that were established at the previous SEENSA conference held in May 2012 in the Republic of Slovenia, as well as on their future activities until the next SEENSA conference to be held in May 2014 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.