U.S. contribution to strategic instability is compounded by Russia’s and China’s cyber strategies. Particularly risky is that both countries incorporate “cyber proxies” as central parts of their cyber doctrines. Broadly defined, cyber proxies are loosely affiliated hacking groups, often times criminal hacking groups, that are called upon by the state to conduct parts of or all of specific cyber operations. For Russia, it has been longstanding practice for the state security service (FSB) and military intelligence (GRU) to employ cyber criminals for offensive cyber operations in return for implicit legal immunity. This has allowed the state to cheaply leverage technical expertise and, more importantly, facilitate plausible deniability on the part of the Russian government for cyber operations.