Military-made cyberweapons could soon become available on the dark web, Interpol warns

By Ryan Browne, CNBC

Digital tools used by the military to conduct cyberwarfare could eventually end up in the hands of cybercriminals, a top Interpol official has warned.

Jurgen Stock, the international police agency’s secretary general, said he’s concerned state-developed cyberweapons will become available on the darknet — a hidden part of the internet that can’t be accessed through search engines like Google — in a “couple of years.”

“That is a major concern in the physical world — weapons that are used on the battlefield and tomorrow will be used by organized crime groups,” Stock said during a CNBC-moderated panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Monday.

“The same applies for the digital weapons that, maybe today are used by the military, developed by military, and tomorrow will be available for criminals,” he added.

Cyberweapons come in many forms, with ransomware — where hackers lock down a company’s computer systems and demand a ransom payment to restore control — being a key one. The topic of cyberwar has long been a concern for global governments, but it’s gotten renewed attention amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Moscow has been blamed for numerous cyberattacks that took place before and during its military invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has consistently denied such accusations. In the meantime, Ukraine has enlisted the help of volunteer hackers from around the world to help it defend against Russian aggression.

Stock called on business leaders to increase cooperation with governments and law enforcement authorities to ensure more effective policing of cybercrime.

“On the one hand, we are aware of what’s going on — on the other hand, we need the data, which are in the private sector,” he said.