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The purpose of this paper is to assess the cyber risks associated with the development of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies also in relation to their use in the Metaverse. AR and VR represent one of the most recent and relevant technological advances that have been able to take advantage of the changes brought about by the ongoing digital transformation driven by Industry 4.0, and the pandemic crisis. Moreover, these technologies are also becoming relevant for their potential in war scenarios and military exploitation.A common goal for both technologies is to improve knowledge and operational processes, overcoming the amount of information that is received by normal observation mechanisms, reducing the interactive distance between different variables. Consequently, the fields of application are various and regard all sectors, stemming from the national defense to the health, industrial and educational sectors. The culmination of these technologies, and their applications, is reached by the recent project announced by the founder of Facebook called "Metaverse". Some of the cybersecurity challenges will be similar to and will certainly enhanced others, such as the security and privacy risks related to social media, conference and streaming platforms and even internet browsing. The future of VR and AR spaces will involve a huge increase in new devices connecting to each other, through the creation of new apps and connection bridges, requiring the elaboration and the storage of huge quantities of data. Moreover, laws rarely reflect the rapidly evolving ways in which people interact with each other online. In this context, virtual assets can become as critical as physical ones, creating a worth to be protected. As the opportunities are all encompassing, so are the risks and vulnerabilities, such as identity theft, spying and social engineering. Security of confidential and market data, privacy and security of virtual assets are the most critical issues, linked to the volatility and reliability of providers with respect to assets.Unfortunately, new technologies are often developed and brought to market long before cybersecurity issues are addressed. An early identification of the main cyber risks inherent in the application of AR and VR technologies and the provision of framework for possible solutions to the various issues identified could address the Metaverse new challenge.

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Approaches to risk analysis, crisis management and resilience enhancement for Critical Infrastructure (CI) Protection will be considered starting from a case study related to the management of the pandemic in Italy. Business continuity and crisis management models for CI are analyzed aiming to deal with complexity and reduce uncertainty relating pandemic and long-time crisis. Furthermore, is presented a methodology highlighting the functioning of the Italian Civil Protection and its systemic nature: a complex apparatus made up of different elements and organizations, which derives from the functioning of different organizational systems in interaction with each other. As a baseline for the coordination management the Augustus Method is considered for its strategical, tactical and operational aspects. One of the main outputs of the research consists in creating a “what if” forecasting model, configured as a visualization of the propagation of negative effects on the supply chain and manpower over time.