False Comfort from Nuclear Analogies : How International Trade Restrictions Apply to Cyberspace

This thesis evaluates the international legal framework of trade restrictions in the context of cyberspace. Certain cyber goods are recognized as dual-use goods based on their potential military applications. Thereby, the existing legal framework for governing the trade of sensitive goods is extended analogically to apply to cyber goods. The first research question presented in this paper is whether international law includes a legal basis for using trade policy as a measure for security governance in cyberspace. To answer this research question, the paper evaluates how security interests are regarded in trade policy. This evaluation is conducted by analysing the nature of security interests with the constructivist method and reviewing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade with the de lege lata approach. The second research question evaluates whether trade policy is a suitable model for governing threats in the cyberspace. This research question covers the evaluation of existing non-proliferation focused trade policies, mainly the Wassenaar Arrangement, and grounds for applying the same approach to cyber goods. This evaluation also includes observing the nature of cyber goods and the cyber goods industry with a socio-legal method. Dual-use nuclear goods are used as a reference point in a comparison between cyber goods and conventional dual-use goods. The purpose of the thesis is to examine the implications of applying trade policy as a security measure in cyberspace. The choice of extending an existing legal framework instead of establishing a separate framework specifically for cyberspace may have a broader impact on the legal status of cyberspace. The paper evaluates whether the current legal approach to governing dual-use cyber goods takes into account the nature of cyberspace in an adequate manner. This paper concludes that international trade law provides a legal basis for imposing trade restrictions for cyber goods based on security interests. However, the analogical extension of the non-proliferation focused trade policy framework does not fully adapt to the nature of cyber goods and the cyber goods industry. Thereby, the current model for the governance of dual-use cyber goods may result in negative effects in the industry by restricting trade without providing equivalent benefit in the form of decreasing cyber risks. The possible solutions proposed based on the research conducted in this paper include incorporating views and practices of private sector stakeholders as an essential input in any regulation related to cyberspace, establishing a separate cyber convention for properly defining the legal status of cyberspace, and promoting global initiatives for cyber resilience

Curbing the Market for Cyber Weapons

President Obama recently warned that foreign governments, criminal syndicates and lone individuals are probing our financial, energy and public safety systems every day and that in a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home. \u27 Until recently, the technical challenges of identifying and exploiting U.S. computer vulnerabilities impeded all but the most powerful of nations from acquiring such capabilities. These impediments have vanished. Now, criminals, terrorists, and rogue nations can simply buy what they need in a booming online market for the most dangerous exploits of all: weaponized 0day exploits

Germany's Economic Security and Technology: Optimizing Export Control, Investment Screening and Market Access Instruments

Technological development and increasingly fraught US-China competition have geopolitical consequences for technology access. The erosion of post-Cold War multilateral dual-use technology export control regimes, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, and investment and other control frameworks have led to national, EU, and ad hoc measures, such as the restrictions on Russian semiconductor access following the invasion of Ukraine

Towards a Peaceful Development of Cyberspace - Challenges and Technical Measures for the De-escalation of State-led Cyberconflicts and Arms Control of Cyberweapons

Cyberspace, already a few decades old, has become a matter of course for most of us, part of our everyday life. At the same time, this space and the global infrastructure behind it are essential for our civilizations, the economy and administration, and thus an essential expression and lifeline of a globalized world. However, these developments also create vulnerabilities and thus, cyberspace is increasingly developing into an intelligence and military operational area – for the defense and security of states but also as a component of offensive military planning, visible in the creation of military cyber-departments and the integration of cyberspace into states' security and defense strategies. In order to contain and regulate the conflict and escalation potential of technology used by military forces, over the last decades, a complex tool set of transparency, de-escalation and arms control measures has been developed and proof-tested. Unfortunately, many of these established measures do not work for cyberspace due to its specific technical characteristics. Even more, the concept of what constitutes a weapon – an essential requirement for regulation – starts to blur for this domain. Against this background, this thesis aims to answer how measures for the de-escalation of state-led conflicts in cyberspace and arms control of cyberweapons can be developed. In order to answer this question, the dissertation takes a specifically technical perspective on these problems and the underlying political challenges of state behavior and international humanitarian law in cyberspace to identify starting points for technical measures of transparency, arms control and verification. Based on this approach of adopting already existing technical measures from other fields of computer science, the thesis will provide proof of concepts approaches for some mentioned challenges like a classification system for cyberweapons that is based on technical measurable features, an approach for the mutual reduction of vulnerability stockpiles and an approach to plausibly assure the non-involvement in a cyberconflict as a measure for de-escalation. All these initial approaches and the questions of how and by which measures arms control and conflict reduction can work for cyberspace are still quite new and subject to not too many debates. Indeed, the approach of deliberately self-restricting the capabilities of technology in order to serve a bigger goal, like the reduction of its destructive usage, is yet not very common for the engineering thinking of computer science. Therefore, this dissertation also aims to provide some impulses regarding the responsibility and creative options of computer science with a view to the peaceful development and use of cyberspace

Cyber Threats and NATO 2030: Horizon Scanning and Analysis

The book includes 13 chapters that look ahead to how NATO can best address the cyber threats, as well as opportunities and challenges from emerging and disruptive technologies in the cyber domain over the next decade. The present volume addresses these conceptual and practical requirements and contributes constructively to the NATO 2030 discussions. The book is arranged in five short parts...All the chapters in this book have undergone double-blind peer review by at least two external experts.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/asbook/1038/thumbnail.jp

The Impact of Cyberwarfare on the National Security

Cyberwarfare has emerged as a critical threat to national security, encompassing attacks on critical infrastructure, government operations, and military capabilities. The increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks necessitate effective strategies to mitigate this threat. Successful cyberattacks can disrupt essential services, cripple economies, and tarnish a nation’s reputation. Attacks on military networks compromise classified information and communication systems, endangering military operations. Additionally, cyber espionage undermines national security by facilitating the theft of sensitive data. Moreover, cyber warfare can manipulate democratic processes, eroding public trust. To counter these threats, comprehensive cybersecurity strategies are vital, encompassing some specific defensive and offensive strategies that can be implemented to mitigate the threat of cyberwarfare. International cooperation and information sharing are essential for combating cyberwarfare and safeguarding national security. Addressing the impact of cyberwarfare requires a multifaceted approach to protect critical infrastructure, enhance military defenses, and preserve the integrity of democratic systems. The presented article discusses the factor of cyber war and its impact on national security, in the conditions of modern conflicts. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the impact of cyberattacks and cyberwar on national security

Cyber Power and the International System

This dissertation is comprised of three separate papers that address how cyber power contributes to national power and the implications for international security posed by cyber operations. The first paper, “Cyber Power and International Stability: Assessing Deterrence and Escalation in Cyberspace,” posits that there are unique attributes that define the cyber domain and that have direct implications on deterrence and escalation dynamics between state actors. The second paper, “Arms Control and Confidence Building Measures for the Cyber Domain,” explores at various mechanisms that states have traditionally used to foster stability and prevent inadvertent conflict and assesses their applicability to controlling cyber operations. Finally, “The Logic of Coercion in Cyberspace” delves into the role of cyber operations as both inadvertent and deliberate signals and assesses their utility as a coercive instrument of statecraft