Dual - use technology In politics and diplomacy , dual - use is technology that can be used for both peace ful and military aims . More generally speaking , dual - use can also refer to any technology which can satisfy more than one goal at any given time . Thus , expensive technologies which would otherwise only serve military purposes can also be used to benefit civilian commercial interests when not otherwise engaged such as the Global Positioning System . Missile . Originally developed as weapons during the Cold War , the United States and the Soviet Union spent billions of dollars developing rocket technology which could carry humans into space ( and even eventually to the moon ) . The development of this peaceful rocket technology paralleled the development of intercontinental ballistic missile technology and was a way of demonstrating to the other side the potential of ones own rockets . Those who seek to develop ballistic missiles may claim that their rockets are for peaceful purposes , e . g . are for commercial satellite launching or scientific purposes . However even genuinely peaceful rockets may be converted into weapons , and provide the technological base to do so . Within peaceful rocket programs different peaceful applications can be seen as having parallel military ones for example the demonstration of the ability to launch multiple satellites with a single launch vehicle can be seen in a military context as having the potential to deploy multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle s Nuclear . Many types of nuclear reactors produce fissile material , such as plutonium , as a by - product , which could be used in the development of a nuclear weapon . However , nuclear reactors can also be used for peaceful , civilian purposes : providing life saving radiopharmaceuticals , and electricity to a city , for example . As such , a nation which wanted to develop a nuclear weapon could build a reactor , claiming it would be used for civilian purposes , and then use its plutonium to construct a nuclear weapon . The International Atomic Energy Agency attempts to monitor dual - use technology in countries who are signatories of the Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty , to make sure that fissile material is not diverted to military functions . In recent events , both Iran and North Korea have been accused of having nuclear weapons programs based on dual - use technology . Even with reactors incapable of producing fissile material it is still a possiblity that materials from such reactors , and materials used for example in the manufacture of x - ray machines ( or reclaimed from such machines ) could be diverted to create radiological weapon s . Chemical . The modern history of chemical weapons can be traced back to the chemical industries of the belligerent nations of the First World War , especially that of Germany . Many industrial chemical processes produce toxic intermediary stages , final products and by products , and any nation with a chemical industry has the potential to create weaponised chemical agents . Biological . Lax biosecurity at laboratories is worrying researchers and regulators that potential select agent s may have fallen into the hands of malevolent parties . It may have been instrumental to the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States . Universities sometimes flout regulations , complacent as to the dangers in doing so . Though the majority of breaches are benign , the hybridization of hepatitis C and dengue - fever viruses at Imperial College London in 1997 resulted in a fine when health and safety rules were not observed . A research program at Texas A & M University was shut down when " Brucella " and " Coxiella " infections were not reported . That the July 2007 terrorist attacks in central London and at Glasgow airport may have involved NHS medical professionals was a recent wake - up call that screening people with access to pathogen s may be necessary . The challenge remains to maintain security without impairing the contributions to progress afforded by research . Reports from the project on building a sustainable culture in dual use bioethics suggest that , as a result of perceived changes in both science and security over the past decade , several states and multilateral bodies have underlined the importance of making life scientists aware of concerns over dual - use and the legal obligations underpinning the prevention of biological weapons . One of the key mechanisms that have been identified to achieve this is through the education of life science students , with the objective of building what has been termed a “ culture of responsibility ” . Certainly at the 2008 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention ( BTWC ) , it was agreed by consensus that : States Parties recognized the importance of ensuring that those working in the biological sciences are aware of their obligations under the Convention and relevant national legislation and guidelines . . . States Parties noted that formal requirements for seminars , modules or courses , including possible mandatory components , in relevant scientific and engineering training programmes and continuing professional education could assist in raising awareness and in implementing the Convention . With several similar stipulations from other states and regional organisations , there is evidence to suggest that the concept of biosecurity education has become increasingly salient in the contemporary security discourse . Unfortunately however , there is an emerging understanding in both the policy and academic literature that life scientists across the globe are frequently uninformed or under - informed on issues such as biosecurity , dual - use , the BTWC and national legislation outlawing biological weapons . Moreover , despite numerous declarations by states and multilateral organisations , the extent to which statements at the international level have trickled down to multifaceted activity at the level of scientists remains limited . Other technologies . In addition to obvious and headline grabbing dual - use technologies there are some less obvious ones , many erstwhile peaceful technologies can be used in weapons . One example during the First and Second World War , is the role of German toy manufacturers . Germany was one of the leading nations in the production of wind - up toy s , the ability to produce large numbers of small reliable clockwork motors was converted into the ability to produce shell and bomb fuses . Control . Most industrial countries have export control s on certain types of designated dual - use technologies , and they are required by a number of treaties as well . These controls restrict the export of certain commodities and technologies without the permission of the government . The principal agency for investigating violations of dual use export controls in the United States is the Department of Homeland Security , Homeland Security Investigations . Interagency coordination of export control cases are conducted through the Export Enforcement Coordination Center ( E2C2 ) . There are several international arrangements among countries which seek to harmonize lists of dual - use ( and military ) technologies to control . These include the Nuclear Suppliers Group , the Australia Group , which looks at chemical and biological technologies , the Missile Technology Control Regime , which covers delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction , and the Wassenaar Arrangement , which covers conventional arms and dual - use technologies .