Countering cyber proliferation: Zeroing in on Access-as-a-Service Report by Winnona DeSombre, James Shires, JD Work, Robert Morgus, Patrick Howell O’Neill, Luca Allodi, and Trey Herr
Executive summary
The proliferation of offensive cyber capabilities (OCC) the combination of tools; vulnerabilities; and skills, including technical, organizational, and individual capacities used to conduct offensive cyber operations presents an expanding set of risks to states and challenges commitments to protect openness, security, and stability in cyberspace. As these capabilities become more prolific, their regulation through formal international norms and export controls is increasingly ineffective. Countering the spread of dangerous capabilities is not a new policy challenge, but its specific application to the cyber domain remains uncertain both in theory and in practice. Left unchecked, the contin
A primer on the proliferation of offensive cyber capabilities Issue Brief by Winnona DeSombre, Michele Campobasso, Dr. Luca Allodi, Dr. James Shires, JD Work, Robert Morgus, Patrick Howell O’Neill, and Dr. Trey Herr
Executive summary
Offensive cyber capabilities run the gamut from sophisticated, long-term disruptions of physical infrastructure to malware used to target human rights journalists. As these capabilities continue to proliferate with increasing complexity and to new types of actors, the imperative to slow and counter their spread only strengthens. But to confront this growing menace, practitioners and policy makers must understand the processes and incentives behind it. The issue of cyber capability proliferation has often been presented as attempted export controls on intrusion software, creating a singular emphasis on malware components. This primer reframes the narrative o