Can States Calculate the Risks of Using Cyber Proxies?

This article contends that states that employ cyber proxies are confronted with twin dilemmas. First, governments risk a Promethean dilemma when they equip cyber proxies with tools that could be turned against them. Second, governments risk a dilemma of inadvertent crisis escalation by empowering proxies with more expansive, or less restrained, political agendas that may exceed their mandates. The essay explores how states can manage the risks associated with these dilemmas and the conditions under which they are likely to backfire.