The third national campaign against cybercrime had its official launch on Tuesday, and the schedule of activities for 2016 announced.

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy and in partnership with Moroccan universities, public and private establishments, the Moroccan Centre for Polytechnic Research and Innovation (Centre marocain de recherches polytechniques et d’innovation - CMRPI) has officially launched the third national campaign against cybercrime on Tuesday 9 February at the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco in Rabat.

“We, and our children more so, are and will be more exposed to the significant danger of cybercrime. Adopting a strategy aimed at raising the awareness of Moroccans of best practices seems to be vital” warned Youssef Bentaleb, CMRPI President.

The cyber security strategy put forward by Mr. Bentaleb is based around 6 activities directed especially at the Moroccan private sector companies through a programme for raising awareness, training and support.

- Three training workshops: lead by experts from CMRPI and universities of international renown, these training and support workshops aiming to fight cybercrime will be held in February and March in Kenitra.

1. Master the major risks of cybercrime (from 9 to 11 February)

2. Information System governance and cyber security strategy (from 23 to 25 February)

3. Cyber-attacks and advanced cyber security (from 2 to 4 March)

The participants will have the opportunity to acquire the technical and managerial skills to reduce an organisation's vulnerabilities, analyse and estimate risks, respond to incidents, and defend against attacks by cybercriminals.

- A national symposium on cyber security and cybercrime: targeted for information system managers, this first national symposium on digital trust scheduled for 15 and 16 April in Kenitra, aims at raising the challenges related to cyber security, presenting the problems related to the practice of computer security, and also proposing solutions.

- Support: from February unto September 2016, the 2016 campaign offers establishments optimised solutions formulated by experts in order to support the implementation of a strategy to counteract cybercrime. A support platform will be developed.

- Awareness of the public: one of the most import measures in combating the rise of cybercrime is public awareness. Thus, the public awareness campaign will continue, targeting particularly pupils and students through various communication media, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, The Ministry of Higher Education and equally the Ministry of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development.

- An international conference on cyber security: The CMRPI will organise an international conference on cyber security on the 16 and 17 September in Rabat. The aim is to continue the debate on the current events and challenges regarding cyber security and cybercrime.

- An Afro-European forum: On 15, 16 and 17 September, the first Afro-European cyber security forum will be held in Rabat. The event will bring together all key players in the field of digital trust and the fight against cybercrime and present the latest scientific and technical developments on the subject.

In a world that is more connected than ever, the Internet touches practically every aspect of daily life. Morocco has recognised this challenge and is mobilizing to fight against the phenomenon of cybercrime that costs about $500 billion per year worldwide.