US to Rework Arms Control Rule on Exporting Hacker Tools

The U.S. government is rewriting a proposal under arms control rules from 20 years ago to make it simpler to export tools related to hacking and surveillance software since they are also used to secure computer networks.

A presentation in the Symantec booth during the RSA Conference in San Francisco on April 22, 2015. The U.S. government is rewriting a proposal under arms control rules from 20 years ago to make it simpler to export tools related to hacking and surveillance software since they’re are also used to secure computer networks. The White House said it supports making cyber intrusion tools available overseas for legitimate cybersecurity activities, according to a letter made public Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

WASHINGTON—The U.S. government is rewriting a proposal under arms control rules from 20 years ago to make it simpler to export tools related to hacking and surveillance software since they are also used to secure computer networks.

The White House said it supports making cyber intrusion tools available overseas for legitimate cybersecurity activities, according to a letter made public Tuesday.

Industry groups and lawmakers have raised fears that overly broad language aimed at limiting the spread of such hacking tools would have unintended negative consequences for national cybersecurity and research.

As one of the 41 member countries of the 1996 Wassenaar Arrangement, which governs the highly technical world of export controls for arms and certain technologies, the United States agreed in 2013 to restrict tools related to cyber “intrusion software” that could fall into the hands of repressive regimes.

The Obama administration agrees that 'keeping these technologies from illegitimate actors must not come at the expense of legitimate cybersecurity activities.'

— Caroline Tess, senior director for legislative affairs, National Security Council