Can States Deter with Covert Capabilities? Transparency as Responsible Behavior

States have taken advantage of cyber tools to further their geopolitical interests. The increase in the misuse of cyber capabilities for state-sponsored malicious activities challenges traditional statecraft. This article analyzes the official positions of three countries—Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—regarding cyber operations to answer the following questions: what objectives do states pursue by developing these offensive cyber tools? And when do they choose to acknowledge that they have used these tools? Crucially, this article considers the tradeoffs between the ability to conduct covert cyber operations and effective deterrence, which requires a degree of transparency.