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Author(s):
Siena Anstis Niamh Leonard Jonathon W. Penney
Journal
Elsevier BV
Abstract

Yet, despite this emphatic recognition of the importance of transparency, the activities of government and private sector actors involved in the development, sale, and export of Offensive Cyber Capabilities (OCC) remain cloaked in secrecy regardless of the sector’s role in facilitating human rights abuses. In this article, we tackle this broader challenge of secrecy via a case study on the export of dual-use technologies. We theorize why secrecy has been so prevalent in the OCC sector. We consider the role of different forms of secrecy—such as commercial secrecy and opportunistic secrecy by governments—in facilitating this situation.

Concluding remarks
We argue that injecting greater transparency into the OCC sector is critical to deterring human rights abuses through accountability and oversight, can help counter the proliferation of offensive cyber technology proliferation, and can ensure better overall governance in regimes governing the export of dual-use technologies. Mandating transparency by governments and exporting companies in the OCC sector can pave the way for policy changes to better regulate this industry and finds support in international human rIn closing, we examine how transparency might be incorporated into export frameworks addressing dual-use technologies.ights principles related to transparency.

Reference details

DOI
10.1016/j.clsr.2022.105787
Resource type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2023
ISSN Number
0267-3649
Publication Area
Dual-use cybersecurity
Date Published
2023-04

How to cite this reference:

Anstis, S., Leonard, N., & Penney, J. W. (2023). Moving from secrecy to transparency in the offensive cyber capabilities sector: The case of dual-use technologies exports. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2022.105787 (Original work published)