Addressing cybersecurity challenges for Morocco in the metaverse with a few recommendations
In the following paragraphs, we will attempt to present the recommendations that we deem 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 the reform of these agencies to mere modifications of existing structures; on the contrary, we call for the creation of new specialized agencies, well-equipped with advanced analytical and investigative 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 educational programs, training, and awareness campaigns should target both professionals and the general public. We believe that this will require an extensive reduction of cyber threats in the Metaverse and will improve public awareness of new cyber threats. The recommended programs should take into account the global risks arising from the Metaverse, equipping users with the skills and knowledge necessary to protect their privacy and resilience in the virtual space.
The new cyber threats within the Metaverse go beyond 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 a 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 principle of collaboration, where high-tech companies, 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. This type of cooperation that we advocate is not a new or innovative practice, but it can serve as a starting point for this long process of developing and deploying common frameworks and practices aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and cyber defense capabilities at the transnational level.
Investment in technological infrastructures 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 artificial intelligence capabilities and potentials 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.
The mixed partnership model, both internally and internationally, between the private and public sectors should be a paradigm to follow and adopt to regulate the Moroccan Metaverse, as international experiences demonstrate that this process effectively contributes by leveraging multiple expertise, especially with the private sector that possesses the necessary technological capabilities and human resources, to the consolidation of the overall cybersecurity of cybernetic territories against online malpractices. Because if Moroccan decision-makers limit their activities aimed at consolidating national security to a circle that bases efforts solely on public initiatives, this exposes these efforts, according to Panasenko (2024), to a situation of weakness and distances them from innovations in the private sector in terms of technology, organization, governance, cybersecurity, etc. Finally, there remains a crucial element to highlight, with which we agree with Al-Emran (2024), in his mention of the support and backing for scientific and academic research and the provision of necessary resources to revitalize the field of cybersecurity and the Metaverse in general. Because of this, it will help Morocco develop these national models, directly leading to the establishment of responses that strengthen trust and stability within the national Metaverse.
Ultimately, we need to implement comprehensive systems to stop money laundering in the Metaverse and through virtual means. Policymakers and government officials in this area must prioritize the protection of virtual assets at the top of their important tasks list. In the face of criminal activity in the virtual world, financial security is another important issue that must be taken seriously. We must put an end to this kind of behaviour in the virtual world so that people can see that this space is safe and stable, even if it is threatened and destabilized. Specific rules and regulations not only help to strengthen deterrence, enforce the law, and consolidate legal frameworks, but they also help ensure that people feel safe and protected. This transforms the virtual world from a place where new cyber threats can thrive into a place where people can invest and improve their social and economic status according to Kamoun (2023).
To conclud finally, we explored in our article the challenges arising from the Metaverse and how they directly impact the evolution of modern societies by offering criminals a 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 cybersecurity strategy and how it risks once again ignoring the implementation of a specific program for the regulation and governance of the virtuality of the Metaverse. Because the fact that Morocco, as an emerging nation seeking to improve its indexing and develop its global positioning in technology, also risks 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 cybercrime extension 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 through the exploitation of the potentials of the Metaverse in terms of anonymity and by leveraging the difficulties of decentralization and traceability 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, unlike some advanced countries in global cybersecurity, despite the country’s advancements in global cybersecurity indexing and national and international governance in cybersecurity. The national cybersecurity strategy must be visionary, flexible, and adaptable to the multiple and complex demands arising from the Metaverse, and also vigilant against innovation and criminal experience in the Metaverse that aim to transport different forms of cybercrime into this still-studied space. We have found from our analyses that Morocco’s cyber strategy is based on strengths, notably public awareness, the improvement of response levels by security agencies and institutions, as well as the aspect of multifaceted regional and international cooperation and collaboration. The situation under discussion can be used as an argument by decision-makers to establish a new Moroccan perspective around the Metaverse, giving rise to paradigms capable of catching up with criminal innovations in cyberspace in general.
In this conclusion, we believe that Morocco can leverage the open nature of the Metaverse to develop partnerships and strengthen its collaborative and cooperative potentials in order to limit the impacts of cybercrime in the Metaverse. This idea is achievable through the consolidation of cooperative processes based on intelligence sharing between international security agencies and also through the alignment of national regulations with international regulatory experiences to limit and weaken criminal efforts in the Metaverse. There are several points we can leverage to build national cybersecurity in the Metaverse, including the creation of specific organizations well-equipped with investigative and criminal analysis technologies to combat emerging cybercrime in the Metaverse.
The extension of cybersecurity plans in the educational field is an essential element to counter cyber threats in the Metaverse by creating a broader and more open cyber awareness that enables users to face the complexities of cyber threats. This brings us back 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 assets in the Metaverse.
As we have attested, the permanent presence of threats in the Metaverse reveals the constant nature of this space as a place that fosters the propagation and multiplication of enduring cyber threats, making efforts to counter the effects necessary. Morocco’s national cybersecurity strategy, according to this analysis process, must quickly adapt to the dangers threatening national security and stability and strengthen strategic and preventive preparedness for cyber threats within the Metaverse. For this, raising awareness and adapting to the disruptions coming from the Metaverse require strengthening the fields related to scientific and academic research in order to help decision-makers and professionals better understand the stakes and challenges of the Metaverse.
This includes understanding the transformative and innovative nature of cyber threats in immersive environments, as well as examining and evaluating the effectiveness of national security measures in relation to innovative criminal activities. The process of strengthening national cybersecurity in the Metaverse does not only include the technical aspect. 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 holding open debates in politics, culture, law, etc., so that Moroccan decision-makers and professionals can lay the groundwork for a new cyber strategy that takes into account these new frameworks of cyber threats in the Metaverse.
In the same spirit 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 in these research areas seems very useful and will help decision-makers take better and more effective initiatives related to reducing the undesirable impacts of the Metaverse on everyday life, and will also enhance users’ vigilance and their presence as responsible individuals aware of their rights and obligations in the Metaverse.
In conclusion, Morocco’s national cybersecurity strategy must strengthen the proactive aspect and preventive design when it comes to issues related to the Metaverse. This should in no way reinforce 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, investment, and development plans. Therefore, cybersecurity in the Metaverse can only be achieved by expanding the dimensions of study and involvement in the fields of education, infrastructure development, openness, and international collaboration, etc., making the security and stability of the Moroccan ecosystem more confident, sustainable, well-established, and secure.
According to this vision, Morocco can strengthen these gains and increase its opportunities by attracting investments and financing, which, in turn, helps 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 alignment with national and international requirements.
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