Paris Call: Taming the Cyber Mercenary Market

Taming the Cyber Mercenary Market

A Multistakeholder Blueprint Towards Increased Transparency and Cyber Stability

In an era where States are increasingly leveraging cyber capabilities for strategic and national security objectives, the recourse to external suppliers has become commonplace. As a result, a rapidly growing market for offensive cyber tools and services has developed to meet this demand, which, if left unregulated, may present a direct threat to global cyber stability and peaceful use of information and communication technologies.

Against this backdrop, the multistakeholder community of the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace established a Working Group in 2023 to delve deeper into the Cyber-Mercenaries phenomenon and develop action-oriented policy proposals to address this escalating challenge.

This Working Group gathered experts representing formal supporters of the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace as well as other authoritative institutions in the field of cyber security and stability. This document summarizes the main priority recommendations debated during the first year of work and agreed by consensus.