Cyber Arms Watch

In cyber terms, arms control is roughly in the same place as the 1950s was for nuclear weapons. There is no common understanding of what “cyber weapons” are, or indeed even “cyber forces”. States are left guessing as to the overall capability of another state. By foreclosing any common language on offensive cyber capabilities and intent, this lack of transparency has implications not only for intelligence and national security assessments but also for institutional dialogues and the wider public discussion on international peace and security in cyberspace. A vital ingredient for progress is greater transparency of the relative cyber capabilities of nations. Transparency helps reduce the scope for misunderstanding, provides for clarity of intent and predictability, and helps establish norms of restraint and communication – all essential ingredients for stability.  

The Cyber Arms Watch seeks to contribute to transparency by fostering a much-needed overview and comparison of the self-declared and the perceived offensive cyber capabilities of 60 states. It enables the determination of an overall “Cyber Transparency Index” for states by using two specific ratings: