In cyber terms, arms control is roughly at the level of the 1950s 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. This lack of transparency has implications not only for intelligence and national security assessments, but more so for the institutional dialogues and the wider public discussion on international peace and security in cyberspace. A vital ingredient for progress is transparency of the relative cyber capabilities of nations. It 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.
On the 30th of May 2022, a panel of experts launched the Cyber Arms Watch monitor, which introduces a “Cyber Transparency Index” of over 60 states. It measures the degree to which states are transparent about their own offensive cyber capabilities and compares it to the outside perceptions of those capabilities. The panel explore why there is a need for more transparency in offensive cyber, its underlying difficulties, and the ways in which this can be encouraged.
Speakers:
Saskia Bruines, Deputy Mayor, The Hague
James Andrew Lewis, Senior Vice President, CSIS
Allison Pytlak, Disarmament Programme Manager, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Max Smeets, Senior Researcher, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich
Louk Faesen, Senior Strategic Analyst, Cyber Policy and Resilience Program, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies
Find out more about the Cyber Arms Watch here
Experts
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