ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) as cyber arms control

That means that the State Department and the Pentagon are looking for an alternative framework, they might find it in the ITAR.

The US has failed to take the offensive cyber products to the Wassenaar agreement. That means that the State Department and the Pentagon are looking for an alternative framework. They might find it in ITAR [International Traffic in Arms Regulations].

The Obama administration understands that something has to be done to regulate the violence in the cyber domain. Cyber arms control and regulation are hot topics right now.

The last try to impose cyber arms control was with Wassenaar agreement that regulate dual use technologies. But, the big tech companies opposed, and the initiative failed.

I would like to argue that the Obama administration can choose to implement instead cyber arms control within the ITAR regulation.

The ITAR is a set of United States Government regulations on the export and import of military related articles and services. Therefore, it can contain the offensive cyber technologies and give the US control over them.

One has to acknowledge that most of the cyber technologies are coming from US companies or companies that were funded by US money. It allows the US to use ITAR to control the export of those technologies.

The use of ITAR opens more possibilities in this context. For example, the US can decide that every code written on a CPU of Intel or AMD [US companies] is subject to ITAR. Equally, it can apply to any electronic product that is funded by US money or developed in the US.

If the US goes this way, others will follow. China is another country bothered with cyber defence. It is also a significant producer of electronics. That means that the Chinese government can apply a regulation like ITAR. Besides US and China, this is true for any “ITAR-Free” country.

To summarize, cyber technologies regulation is a must. There is no better option for the international community to decrease the violence in the cyber domain. The question on the table will it be by the Wassenaar Agreement, ITAR or a new one.

Recommended Reading:

http://insct.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Herr_Rosenzweig_Cyber-Weapons-and-Export-Control.pdf

Written by Ami Rojkes Dombe

Ami is An Israeli-based writer, tech corresponded of the Israel Defense magazine. Covers the Israeli cyber industry, defense industries and the ICT scene. Passions include futuristic technologies, science and geopolitical aspect of technology. MA in political science with thesis in Cyber deterrence.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Wassenaar agreement, ITAR)

Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.