Subject
US cyber export control policy.
Significance
Exports of intrusion and IP surveillance software are subject to a relatively lax international export control regime underpinned by the voluntary Wassenaar Arrangement. Prominent cases of sales of US- and European-manufactured spyware to governments that subsequently used the technology to monitor and suppress political opposition have prompted calls from human rights NGOs for stricter regulations. US industry representatives are concerned that broad or imprecise regulations may both constrain the growth of a multi-billion-dollar sector, and inhibit critical cybersecurity research.
Impacts
The next administration is likely to face political resistance to attempts to regulate cyber exports.
Critical infrastructure and commercial network concerns will drive the political efforts of the US energy sector.
Growing international demand for spyware is likely to favour companies located in Wassenaar non-signatory countries.
Trading with the Enemy: The Making of US Export Control Policy toward the People's Republic of China. HUGO MEIJER . Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. xiii + 416 pp. $74.00. ISBN 978-0-190277697