Military-grade Cybersoftware Exports to be Brought Under International Arms Control

The export of military-grade cybersoftware and manufacturing technologies used to build semiconductor parts for weapons will be controlled, in order to curb proliferation of military tech into China, North Korea and Iran.

The United States, Russia, Japan, India, Britain and South Korea are among the 42 member states of Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies (WA) who agreed to bring the export restrictions in place in December, Kyodo News reported citing its sources.

The move targets countering cyberattacks and other international threats.

“The agreement was reached unanimously at a WA meeting in December. The WA is a Vienna-headquartered international nonbinding regime that restricts exporting commodities and technologies which may be diverted for use by the military and in weapons,” sources told Kyodo News.

Earlier this week, the Chinese military announced its decision to introduce new rules on confidentiality to “guard against cyberattacks largely originating from the US.”