( CNN ) -- With the advent of `` cyberwar , '' a poorly defined term that seems to be used as a catch-all phrase for all manners of computer-related attacks , it 's natural to ask about cyber arms control . Richard Clarke , former cybersecurity adviser to President Obama , has advocated along with others for cyber arms control or new legal rules for war in cyberspace . If governments have the ability to build the tools of cyberwarfare , then presumably , they can regulate and control them . But realistically , it 's unlikely that cyber arms control will happen anytime soon . When we think of arms control , we consider the efforts of the Cold War , which dramatically cut the number of nuclear weapons and other strategic armaments , from the period of detente to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union . Arms control works fairly well for managing the arsenals of weapons that are large and complex . However , cyberweapons are of a different league . All you need is training in computer software engineering and some talent . On the Internet , there is readily available literature on coding and hacking , and of course , a plethora of open source tools . Just as easy as it is to be an effective cyberdefender , you can learn to be an effective offensive cyber-operator . Cyber attacks can be crafted and used by individuals or groups . Importantly , they can make impact even without significant involvement from a nation . For example , the Anonymous hacker group is able to disrupt major corporations and even countries with its campaigns for transparency . Furthermore , when Anonymous is unable to disrupt a target , it typically resorts to overtaking websites with massive denial of service attacks . Despite the role of nonstate players , it is the brinkmanship between countries in cyberspace that make the big headlines . Mandiant , a cybersecurity company , reported a series of cyber attacks on U.S. companies that was traced to China 's People 's Liberation Army unit 61398 based in Shanghai . One of the lessons in the analysis is how remarkably effective the Chinese attackers were despite a stunning lack of sophistication and sloppiness in their tradecraft . In contrast , our biggest and most innovative corporations have developed and deployed sophisticated defense systems that still seem to be regularly breached , despite the efforts of their comically inept adversaries . If the Chinese PLA ever gets its act together , we 're in real trouble . How might this get worse ? We already know that cyber-espionage can harm companies . The risks of cybersabotage can be worse . For example , industrial control systems are largely computer controlled and they can be reached in some cases from the Internet . Future terrorist organizations could cause spectacular physical and economic damage to our refineries , power plants , water systems , pipelines and other important systems without leaving a marked trail or suffering significant personal risk . In the wake of the Stuxnet attacks on Iran 's uranium-refinement centrifuges or the Shamoon attack on Saudi Aramco 's computers , cybersabotage can no longer be considered theoretical . It is happening now . It 's not difficult to imagine a future in which cyber attacks become more frequent or serious . In such a world , there will be a need for diplomacy and norm-setting among the international community . But if we ever wanted to consider treaties on cyber disarmament , or regulations on the use of hacking tools by those wishing to do more than simply spy or steal , we would become immediately stymied by how to enforce the rules . Barring a radical change in the technological playing field , there will never be an effective cyber equivalent of the International Atomic Energy Agency despite all the aspirations of organizations like the International Telecommunications Union to serve such a function . The very idea that an international organization could enforce rules on the misuse of computers is ludicrous . The problem of cyber arms control is akin to the greatest arms control failure of the Cold War , which still persists : the mass distribution of the most produced firearm in human history , the Kalashnikov AK-47 . According to the World Bank , as many as 100 million of these brutally simple weapons are scattered across the globe ( roughly one for every 70 people on the planet , and that excludes the millions of Western military rifles out there , too ) . From every major trouble spot , we see footage of Kalashnikov-wielding soldiers , terrorists and rebels . Global attempts to sweep up such weapons , as well as their bigger and more volatile relatives -- rocket-propelled grenades -- have been mostly ineffective . The U.N. has worked for more than a decade on an Arms Trade Treaty designed to limit the illicit trade of such weapons , but a final draft of the treaty is stalled . For better or for worse , the Internet has become one more field upon which the game of nations is played . Just as the Internet can be used for sharing information and enabling commerce , it can also be used to steal secrets and to cause damage . In the short term , we might see private industry adopt defensive practices . In the long term , while we may never be able to eliminate electronic espionage , we may be able to reduce its reach through vigilance and diplomacy . As for cyber arms control , forget about it . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Christopher Bronk and Dan Wallach .
Christopher Bronk , Dan Wallach : Cyber arms control is unlikely to happen soon . Bronk , Wallach : Cyberattacks can be crafted and launched by individuals , groups . They say nations do n't even have to be involved for an attack to have impact . Bronk , Wallach : It 's hard to get rid of cyberattacks , but they can be curbed with diplomacy .