Cyber mercenaries and the global surveillance-for-hire market

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

International Relations, Government, Foreign Policy, Gzero World, News Commentary, Trump, News, Global Economy, Geopolitics, Politics, Ian Bremmer

4.6 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The use of mercenaries is nothing new in kinetic warfare, but they are becoming a growing threat in cyberspace as well. The weapon of choice for cyber mercenaries is malicious spyware that undermines otherwise benign technologies, and can be sold for profit. Luckily, awareness about this threat is also growing, and increasing global coordination efforts are being put forth to combat this dangerous trend. In episode 2, season 2 of Patching the System, we're focusing on the international system of bringing peace and security online. In this episode, we look at what governments and private enterprises are doing to combat the growth of the cyber mercenary industry. Our participants are: Eric Wenger, senior Director for Technology Policy at Cisco Stéphane Duguin, CEO of the CyberPeace Institute Ali Wyne, Eurasia Group Senior Analyst (moderator) GZERO’s special podcast series “Patching the System,” produced in partnership with Microsoft as part of the award-winning Global Stage series, highlights the work of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from over 150 global technology companies dedicated to creating a safer cyber world for all of us.

Transcript

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0:00.0	There's no fishing or fooling of the user.
0:03.5	It's installing something on their device.
0:05.7	This technology is so powerful that it can overcome the defenses on a device.
0:11.0	So this is a tool that is on the level of sophistication with a military-grid weapon
0:15.6	and needs to be treated that way.
0:18.2	What we are facing is a multifaceted threats with a loose network of individuals,
0:25.5	finances, companies which are playing a link in between states when it comes to a deployment
0:33.0	of this surveillance capability.
0:35.2	So if you want to curb this kind of threats, you need to act as a network.
0:43.3	In the ongoing war in Ukraine, both sides have employed mercenaries to supplement and fortify their own armies.
0:50.3	Now guns for hire are nothing new in kinetic warfare, but in cyberspace, mercenaries
0:55.8	exist as well to augment government capabilities, and their weapon of choice is malicious spyware
1:00.8	that undermines peaceful technology and which can be sold for profit. Today we'll enter the world
1:06.0	of cyber mercenaries and the work that's being done to stop them. Welcome to patching the system, a special podcast from the Global Stage series, a partnership
1:14.7	between GZERMedia and Microsoft.
1:17.2	I'm Ali Wein, a senior analyst at ERAGERA Group.
1:20.5	Throughout this series, we're highlighting the work of the cybersecurity tech accord, a public
1:24.8	commitment for more than 150 global technology companies dedicated to
1:29.0	creating a safer cyber world for all of us. In this episode, we're looking at the latest
1:33.8	in cyber mercenaries and what's being done to stop them. Last season, we spoke to David
1:38.4	Agronovich, director of global threat disruption at Meta, about what exactly it is that cyber
1:43.5	mercenaries do.
	...

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