RUSI Cyber Sanctions Taskforce
Examining how cyber sanctions can more effectively deter state-sponsored operations and disrupt the infrastructure that supports cybercrime.
Introduction
In recent years, the US, EU, UK, and other international partners including Australia have actively developed and implemented cyber sanctions regimes in response to escalating threats from malicious cyber activities. These sanctions frameworks aim to deter, disrupt and hold accountable state-sponsored actors, cybercriminal groups, spyware vendors, and their financial enablers.
Despite their increasing use, the implementation and impact of cyber sanctions remains uneven. Challenges often include the limitations in identifying cyber threat actors to be designated, the limited impact on financial and technical enablers, and weak enforcement mechanisms to effectively disrupt state-backed operations and cybercriminal ecosystems.
To help address these gaps, the Centre for Finance and Security and the Cyber and Tech research team at RUSI have launched the Cyber Sanctions Taskforce. This initiative brings together government officials, private sector practitioners, and subject-matter experts across the UK, EU and US to deliver concrete policy recommendations to ensure that cyber sanctions serve as an effective response to both cybercrime and state-led cyber aggression.
Aims and objectives
The RUSI Cyber Sanctions Taskforce aims to:
Promote coordination
Foster multilateral cooperation to ensure cyber sanctions are better designed by aligned partners and strengthened by targeted industry engagement and public-private collaboration.
Enhance enforcement
Examine how cyber sanctions are implemented across jurisdictions and identify gaps in intelligence sharing and the use of evidence to support designations, enforcement actions, and legal proceedings.
Assess impact
Assess the impact of cyber sanctions in countering state-sponsored espionage, sabotage, and critical infrastructure attacks, as well as ransomware, spyware, and financial enablers facilitating cybercrime.
The Taskforce will provide recommendations to strengthen the use of cyber sanctions in countering both state-sponsored cyber threats and the operations of cybercriminal groups. Its work will inform the development of more effective sanctions regulations, designation practices, enforcement mechanisms, and cross-border coordination to ensure cyber sanctions play a credible role in national and international security strategies.