International law cybercrime and cybersecurity unife

While coordinated international action to ‘call out’ malicious cyberattacks increasingly harnesses the normative force of international law, it is notable that in each case the statements are vague about precisely which international rules are at issue, referring to ‘international law’ in general, or to ‘norms’ of responsible state behaviour.

Because cybercrime is affecting the security of states, understanding the context in which politics and international affairs occur is key, as countries’ national security interests are usually very divergent.
This would probably set a boundary for an international agreement on the creation of a common International Cybersecurity Law.

At the same time, the DoD stated that ‘it does not appear that there exists a rule that all infringements on sovereignty in cyberspace necessarily involve violations of international law’, which implies that in the DoD's view at least some cyber operations may infringe state sovereignty and are internationally wrongful.

This article explores the importance of international law in debates about responsible behaviour in cyberspace – in providing a rules-based framework, in legitimising states’ actions in response to unlawful activity in cyberspace by other states, and in lending normative force to statements calling out malicious cyber activity.