Cyber mercenaries and the global surveillance-for-hire market
Oct 31, 2023
auto_awesome
The podcast discusses the growing threat of cyber mercenaries and their use of malicious spyware. It explores efforts by governments and private enterprises to combat the cyber mercenary industry. The role of the CyberPeace Institute and civil society organizations in addressing this challenge is also highlighted. The podcast explores various initiatives, litigation, regulation, and principles outlined in the Tech Accord to address the global surveillance-for-hire market. It emphasizes the importance of cooperation, regulation, and investment in academia, civil society, and government to stop cyber mercenaries.
The cyber mercenary market poses a significant threat as a loose network of individuals, finances, and companies involved in the deployment of surveillance capabilities, raising concerns about potential human rights abuses and misuse by governments.
Addressing the cyber mercenary market requires a multi-faceted approach that combines government regulations, export control, litigation, public attribution, and fostering partnerships between stakeholders for clearer regulations, enhanced cybersecurity awareness, and stronger security capabilities.
Deep dives
The Threat of Cyber Mercenaries: A Sophisticated and Dangerous Market
The cyber mercenary market poses a multifaceted threat as a loose network of individuals, finances, and companies involved in the deployment of surveillance capabilities. This market, valued at over $12 billion globally, targets people across the internet to collect intelligence and compromise their devices. The use of these technologies has raised concerns, especially due to their potential misuse by governments against journalists, dissidents, and human rights activists. Efforts to combat this market include the Tech Accord's principles to curb its growth, government regulations, litigation, public attribution, and technology companies working together. Society's most important step in stopping cyber mercenaries lies in concerted multi-stakeholder action.
Defining Cyber Mercenaries: A Broad Network of Private Actors
While the official definition describes cyber mercenaries as private actors engaged by states for operations in armed conflict, a broader perspective views them as a network of individuals, companies, and financial tools working to ensure global insecurity. This private sector involvement raises concerns about the lack of oversight and accountability. The sale of surveillance tools and technologies that aid illegal surveillance and human rights abuses should be regulated and subject to judicial oversight. Additionally, better implementation of export control and rigorous investigation by law enforcement are necessary to address the misuse of these tools.
The Power of Cyber Mercenary Technology: A Potent Threat
Cyber mercenary technology is exceptionally powerful, capable of bypassing device defenses without user interaction. This tech can compromise devices completely, granting access to cameras, files, and microphones. The level of sophistication in this technology makes it akin to military-grade weaponry. However, the use of such powerful technologies brings immense risks, as it's difficult to prevent their repurposing for nefarious reasons once in the hands of governments. The concern lies in potential human rights violations, where these technologies are used against journalists, dissidents, and other individuals as tools for suppression and control.
Combating the Cyber Mercenary Market: Collective Action and Responsibility
Addressing the cyber mercenary market requires a multi-faceted approach that combines the efforts of governments, technology companies, and civil society. Government regulations and proper implementation of export control are crucial in curbing this industry's growth. Litigation and public attribution play vital roles in holding implicated companies accountable. Moreover, fostering partnerships between different stakeholders, including academia and civil society organizations like the Cyber Peace Institute, is essential. These collaborative efforts aim to establish clearer regulations, enhance cybersecurity awareness, and strengthen security capabilities to combat cyber mercenaries effectively.
The use of mercenaries is nothing new in kinetic warfare, but they are becoming a growing threat in cyberspace as well. The weapon of choice for cyber mercenaries is malicious spyware that undermines otherwise benign technologies, and can be sold for profit. Luckily, awareness about this threat is also growing, and increasing global coordination efforts are being put forth to combat this dangerous trend.
In episode 2, season 2 of Patching the System, we're focusing on the international system of bringing peace and security online. In this episode, we look at what governments and private enterprises are doing to combat the growth of the cyber mercenary industry.
Our participants are:
Eric Wenger, senior Director for Technology Policy at Cisco
Stéphane Duguin, CEO of the CyberPeace Institute
Ali Wyne, Eurasia Group Senior Analyst (moderator)
GZERO’s special podcast series “Patching the System,” produced in partnership with Microsoft as part of the award-winning Global Stage series, highlights the work of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from over 150 global technology companies dedicated to creating a safer cyber world for all of us.