Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Management & Strategy

US to Curb Hacking Tool Exports to Russia, China

US authorities unveiled Wednesday long-delayed new rules aimed at clamping down on export to nations like Russia and China of hacking technology amid a sharp uptick in cyberattacks globally.

The rules, which are set to go into force in 90 days, would prevent the sale of certain software or devices to a list of countries unless approved by a bureau of the Commerce Department.

US authorities unveiled Wednesday long-delayed new rules aimed at clamping down on export to nations like Russia and China of hacking technology amid a sharp uptick in cyberattacks globally.

The rules, which are set to go into force in 90 days, would prevent the sale of certain software or devices to a list of countries unless approved by a bureau of the Commerce Department.

“The United States opposes the misuse of technology to abuse human rights or conduct other malicious cyber activities, and these new rules will help ensure that US companies are not fueling authoritarian practices,” a Commerce statement said.

The news comes days after US government data showed $590 million in ransomware-related payments were reported to Washington in the first half of 2021 alone, setting a pace to beat totals for the whole previous decade.

The figure was also 42 percent higher than the amount divulged by financial institutions for all of 2020, the US Treasury report said, and there are strong indicators the true cost could be in the billions.

Although Moscow denies any responsibility, most recent ransomware attacks against the United States have been blamed on Russian-speaking hacker groups or those operating from Russian territory.

Under Commerce’s new rules, a license would be required when selling to places deemed “countries of national security or weapons of mass destruction concern,” or which are already under an arms embargo.

The United States, along with Israel, has been a major presence in the market to sell cybersecurity products.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Commerce’s new rules were in the works for years, as officials tried to balance legitimate uses of technology for things like cyber defense against criminal exploitation.

Because of the complexity of the technology and the mix of uses, the rules can be complicated as they differentiate between governments, defensive uses and private individuals.

Related: U.S. Mulls Curbs on Artificial Intelligence Exports

Related: EU Agrees on Tighter Rules for Surveillance Tech Exports

Related: Pegasus Scandal Shows Risk of Israel’s Spy-tech Diplomacy: Experts

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Understand how to go beyond effectively communicating new security strategies and recommendations.

Register

Join us for an in depth exploration of the critical nature of software and vendor supply chain security issues with a focus on understanding how attacks against identity infrastructure come with major cascading effects.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Application Security

Cycode, a startup that provides solutions for protecting software source code, emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday with $4.6 million in seed funding.

CISO Strategy

SecurityWeek spoke with more than 300 cybersecurity experts to see what is bubbling beneath the surface, and examine how those evolving threats will present...

CISO Conversations

Joanna Burkey, CISO at HP, and Kevin Cross, CISO at Dell, discuss how the role of a CISO is different for a multinational corporation...

CISO Conversations

In this issue of CISO Conversations we talk to two CISOs about solving the CISO/CIO conflict by combining the roles under one person.

CISO Strategy

Security professionals understand the need for resilience in their company’s security posture, but often fail to build their own psychological resilience to stress.

Management & Strategy

SecurityWeek examines how a layoff-induced influx of experienced professionals into the job seeker market is affecting or might affect, the skills gap and recruitment...

Cybersecurity Funding

2022 Cybersecurity Year in Review: Top news headlines and trends that impacted the security ecosystem