Addressing cybersecurity challenges for Morocco in the metaverse with a few recommendations

In the following paragraphs, we will attempt to present the recommendations we believe are necessary to improve user protection in the metaverse. These recommendations and procedures take various forms and facets, ranging from guidelines and orientations related to the human element to hardware and technical devices.

In other words, police cybersecurity investigation units require profound modifications to strengthen their activities in combating new cyber threats within the metaverse. This process cannot in any way reduce our calls for reform of these agencies to merely modifying the existing ones; rather, we call for the creation of new specialized agencies well-equipped with advanced analysis and investigation tools to effectively pursue and sanction criminal innovations in the metaverse (Aluthman et al., 2024). The requested tools help investigators and detectives specialized in the pursuit and detection of cybercrime in the metaverse to analyze with great precision and effectively anticipate incidents such as fraud, digital identity theft, and virtual asset theft (Kamoun et al., 2023).

Secondly, we conclude that the educational aspect is very important in this process of consolidating cybersecurity in the metaverse, and that education programs, training, and awareness campaigns should target both professionals and the general public. This imposes, as we believe, an extensive reduction of cyber threats in the metaverse, and will improve public cyber awareness around new cyber threats and criminal innovation in this studied space (Al-Emran et al., 2024). The recommended programs should take into account the comprehensive risks arising from the metaverse, equipping users with the skills and knowledge necessary to protect their privacy and resilience in the virtual space (Aluthman et al., 2024).

The new cyber threats within the metaverse fall out of the category of local cyber threats and take on a transnational and cross-border qualification. For this reason, considering the aspect of transnational cooperation and collaboration also presents itself as a solution and balance to the unjust situation (Kaur et al., 2023). However, we observe that this process of international collaboration and cooperation should not follow the traditional frameworks of diplomacy and international relations. This means that the multiplication and variation of actors of different natures should be a collaborative principle, where cutting-edge technology firms, organizations specialized in the field of cybersecurity, police and intelligence organizations, academic and scientific research centers, etc., are all invited to collaborate to promote security standards and counter emerging cyber threats (Panasenko et al., 2024). This sort of cooperation that we advocate, is not a new or innovatif practices, but can serves as a starting point of this long process for the development and the deployement of common frameworks and practices aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and cyber defense capacities at the transnational level (Chinaechetam et al., 2024).

Investment in technological infrastructure also seems to be a very important factor, as cybersecurity in the metaverse does not only require the strengthening of cognitive devices. On the contrary, the consolidation of national cybersecurity in the metaverse requires the development of explainable deep neural networks (DNN) and the use of the capabilities and potentials of artificial intelligence for the effective detection of illicit activities and the monitoring of illegal intentions in the metaverse (Chinaechetam et al., 2024). Continuous investment in the development of technical, digital, and software capabilities constitutes an asset for the ongoing improvement of cybersecurity and national capabilities for detecting and deterring these activities in the metaverse (Alauthman et al., 2024).

Іոtеrsесtοrаl ϲоllаbоrаtіοո аlѕο ϲοոstіtսtеѕ, іո οսr viеԝ, а сrսсіаl еlеmеnt fоr асhiеvіոɡ rоbսst аոԁ strοոց ϲybеrѕесսrіtу, that the pаrtnеrship bеtԝееո thе рrіvаtе sеϲtοr аոԁ thе рսblіс sеϲtοr ϲοոstіtսtеs, аϲсоrdіոց tο this іdеа, аո еsѕеntiаl stер fοr thе еѕtаblіѕhmеոt οf аո іnnоvаtivе nаtiοոаl ϲуbеrѕесսrіtу аԁаptеԁ tο thе ոеw суbеr thrеаtѕ frοm thе mеtаvеrѕе. The implementation of national expertise with local resources strengthens the foundations for building sustainable cybersecurity and the implementation of regulatory frameworks adaptable to criminal innovations (Panasenko et al., 2024). Moreover, supporting scientific and academic research in this field will constitute a strategic turning point if organizations dedicated to research in the realm of virtuality receive the necessary funds and essential resources to develop governance, regulatory, processing, and monitoring paradigms, etc., enabling proactive responses to vulnerabilities and strengthening the trust of stakeholders and users of virtual platforms (Al-Emran et al., 2024).

Finally, we are supposed to develop robust frameworks regarding the fight against money laundering through virtual processes and across the metaverse. The protection of virtual assets is also a responsibility that should be a crucial issue to protect by decision-makers and public policies in this area generally. Financial security is also a challenge that must be taken seriously in the face of criminal innovations in the virtual space. We must deter these activities in the virtual space in order to provide a vision of trust and stability in this space under threat and destabilization (Panasenko et al., 2024). Specific regulatory guidelines contribute not only to the consolidation of legal frameworks and the enforcement of the law and the strengthening of deterrence but also to the creation of a sense of stability and security, transforming the virtual space from a breeding ground for new cyber threats into an environment for investment and economic and social development (Kamoun et al., 2023).

We explored in our article the challenges arising from the metaverse and how they directly impact the evolution of modern societies by offering criminals great potential to develop their activities in the virtual world. We studied, during this process of argumentation and analysis, the case of Morocco as a country threatened by these activities, criticizing the national cyber strategy and how it risks once again ignoring the implementation of a specific program for the regulation and governance of the metaverse virtuality. Because the fact that Morocco, as an emerging nation seeking to improve its indexing and develop its global positioning in technology, risks also transforming it—if deterrent measures and regulatory and governance instruments and mechanisms are weak—into a hub for sophisticated global cybercrime.

The cause will not be limited to the forms of extension of cybercrime that we know in the metaverse, as we predict that innovation in the field of cybercrime in the metaverse will bring unforeseen forms in the future, far beyond identity theft, fraud, and manipulation of virtual assets. It is thanks to the exploitation of the potentials of the metaverse in anonymity and by taking advantage of decentralization and traceability difficulties that criminals can circumvent cyber strategies and develop their activities by surpassing legal and security frameworks in the metaverse to execute their criminal strategies. The fact that Morocco’s cyber strategy is presented as a response to cyber threats and aims to protect citizens, digital assets, and the national cyber territory in general.

However, it still does not contain specific measures to combat cybercrime in the metaverse like some advanced countries in global cybersecurity, despite the country’s advancements in global cybersecurity indexing and national and international cyber governance. The national cyber strategy should be visionary, flexible, and adaptable to the multiple and complex demands coming from the metaverse, and also vigilant against innovation and criminal cunning in the metaverse that aims to transport different forms of cybercrime into this space still under study. We have noted from our analyses that Morocco’s cyber strategy is based on strong points, particularly public awareness, the improvement of the response level of security agencies and institutions, and the aspect of multifaceted regional and international cooperation and collaboration. This can serve as the foundation for building a more specific response at the metaverse level, where cyber threats continue despite the changing and innovative nature of maintaining the transboundary nature of the virtual threat.

The fact that Morocco’s national cyber strategy emphasizes the collaborative aspect can serve as an entry point to limit opportunities for criminals in the metaverse by exploiting the cross-border nature of the metaverse to commit illicit acts. This idea is achievable through the consolidation of cooperative processes based on the sharing of intelligence between international security agencies and also the alignment of national regulations with international regulatory experiences to limit and weaken criminal efforts in the metaverse. There are several points we can take advantage of to build national cybersecurity in the metaverse, including the establishment of specific organizations well-equipped with investigative and criminal analysis technologies to combat emerging cybercrime in the metaverse.

The extension of cybersecurity plans into the educational domain is an essential element for countering cyber threats in the metaverse by creating a broader and more open cyber awareness that allows users to face the complexities of cyber threats. This refers us to the essential objective and how these proposals will serve decision-makers and professionals in the fight against cyber threats in the metaverse through prospecting, protection, and preventive intervention to secure users and their properties and assets in the metaverse.

As we have attested, the permanent presence of threats in the metaverse reveals the constant nature of this space as one that aids in the propagation and multiplication of enduring cyber threats, leading to the necessity of efforts to counter the effects. Morocco’s national cyber strategy, according to this process, must quickly adapt to the dangers threatening national security and stability and strengthen strategic and preventive preparation for cyber threats within the metaverse. For this, awareness and adaptation to the upheavals coming from the metaverse require strengthening the fields related to scientific and academic research to help decision-makers and professionals better understand the stakes and challenges of the metaverse.

Thіs іոсlսdеs սnԁеrѕtаոdiոɡ thе trаոѕfοrmаtіvе аոԁ іոոοvаtіvе ոаtսrе оf суbеr thrеаtѕ wіthiո immеrsіvе еոvіrοոmеոts, аոd аlsο ехаmiոіոց аnԁ еvаlսаtіnɡ thе еffесtivеոеss оf ոаtіоոаl ѕесսrіty mеаѕսrеs iո rеlаtіοո tо іոոοvаtіvе ϲrіmiոаl асtіvіtiеs. Thе prοϲеsѕ οf strеոցthеոіnց ոаtіоոаl суbеrѕеϲսrіtу іn thе mеtаvеrѕе dοеѕ ոοt оոly iոсlսԁе thе tесhոісаl аѕресt. However, the examination of surveillance, ethics, and privacy measures also requires efforts in academic research regarding their implications on individual freedoms and rights. This recommends the presence of open debates in politics, culture, law, etc., so that Moroccan decision-makers and professionals can lay the foundation for a new cyber strategy that takes into account these new frameworks of cyber threats in the metaverse.

In the same vein of encouraging academic research to understand the challenges and issues of the metaverse, understanding the socio-economic dimensions and implications of the metaverse on Morocco seems to be an obligation due to the entanglements between metaverse activities in the economic field and real economic and financial systems. Encouraging studies around these research areas seems very useful and will help decision-makers to make better and more effective initiatives related to reducing the undesirable impacts of the metaverse on everyday life domains, and will also enhance users’ vigilance and their presence as responsible individuals aware of their rights and obligations in the metaverse.

To conclude, Morocco’s national cyber strategy must strengthen the proactive aspect and preventive design when addressing issues related to the metaverse. This should in no way strengthen the balance of security and stabilization measures at the expense of weakening innovation plans and freedoms. The new cyber strategy must take into account the continuously emerging anti-security developments in this immersive environment, without the adopted national measures infringing on the rights and fundamental principles of freedoms and, above all, without causing delays or hindrances to innovation and investment and development plans. Therefore, cybersecurity in the metaverse should only be achieved through the extension of study and involvement dimensions in the fields of education, infrastructure development, openness, and international collaboration, etc., making the security and stability of the Moroccan ecosystem more confident, sustainable, and well-stable and secure.

According to this vision, Morocco can strengthen these gains and increase its opportunities by attracting investments and funding, which in turn help in the rational and responsible exploitation of virtual resources to improve the real world. Morocco must confront malice in this space, and protect its national security interests, in full respect and harmonization with national and international requirements.

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