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They also argue that a large number of companies that make international markets, especially to NATO’s enemies, are “irresponsible replicators” and deserve more attention from policymakers.
Among these companies is Israel’s Cellebrite company, which develops hacking and forensics tools and sells to countries such as the US, Russia and China. The company has already faced significant backlash for its role in the manufacturing process, for example. China’s coup in Hong Kong and the discovery that his technology was used by a Bangladeshi “death squad.”
“As these firms begin to sell their wares to both NATO members and competitors, it should raise national security concerns in all customers,” the report says.
According to the report, commerce is increasingly global, with 75% of companies selling cyber surveillance and intrusion products outside of their home continent. Lead author Winnona DeSombre, member of the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, argues that such sales point to potential problems with surveillance.
“For most of these firms, it doesn’t seem like they’re willing to self-regulate,” he says.
By marking such firms as “irresponsible replicators,” DeSombre hopes to encourage legislators around the world to target some companies for further regulation.
“When these firms start selling their wares to both NATO members and their enemies, it should raise national security concerns in all customers.”
Governments have recently made moves towards some form of control. NS EU adopts stricter rules In surveillance technology last year in an effort to increase industry transparency. And in the last month the US passed laws more rigid new licensing rules for the sale of intrusion vehicles. Notorious Israeli spyware company NSO Group was one of several companies added to the US blacklist for alleged spyware it provided to foreign governments was later used to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businessmen, activists, academics and embassy staff. NSO consistently denied wrongdoing and argued It’s definitely investigating abuse and shutting down offending customers.
Still, one of the report’s authors says it’s important to understand the true scale of what’s going on.
“The key takeaway from this article is that we’re dealing with an industry,” says Johann Ole Willers of the Norwegian Institute for International Relations (NUPI) Center for Cybersecurity Studies. “This is fundamental insight. Targeting the NSO Group is not enough.”
UN warning
United Nations human rights experts have recently come to the fore alarms about what they call the “increased use of mercenaries in cyberspace.”
“It is undeniable that cyber activity has the ability to lead to violations, both in armed conflict and in peacetime, and therefore a wide variety of rights come into play,” said Jelena Aprac, head of the United Nations working group. a phrase. The group urged international legislators to regulate the industry more effectively to protect “the right to life, economic social rights, freedom of expression, privacy and self-determination.”
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