Florian Egloff, Research Affiliate of the Cyber Studies Programme, has written an article (17 November) for Lawfare, a U.S. national security policy website, about the risks of cyber privateering as a policy choice for the United States.
Florian writes, “Although I agree that the analogies [of cyber security problems to historical privateering] are striking, the risks of adopting 17th century policy in today’s environment are underappreciated. There are many risks, but the following three stand out: an increased risk of unnecessary escalation, the potential for reprisal, and the setting of an international norm that is, for the United States, strategically undesirable.”