Cyberattacks are a persistent threat globally, for governments, companies, and individuals alike.
Public acknowledgment of a breach typically carries significant reputational damage in addition to losses from stolen data and intellectual property, damaged systems..
The term cyber warfare refers to means and methods of warfare that rely on information technology and are used in situations of armed conflict.
Cyber operations may be either offensive or defensive.
IHL only applies to cyber operations that occur during – or that themselves trigger – an armed conflict..
Cyber operations below the threshold of “force”, even if otherwise prohibited under the customary principle of non-intervention, on the other hand, may represent lawful counter-measures in response to internationally wrongful acts not reaching the threshold of “armed attack” by another state..
Definitions: Any kind of malicious activity that attempts to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy information system resources or the information itself..
Fortunately, cyber operations during armed conflicts do not occur in a legal vacuum:
First, cyberattack attribution announcements could explicitly say that particular cyberattacks violate international law.
To date, however, attributions do not typically call out cyberattacks as international law violations.
At most, they characterize cyberattacks as violations of international norms.
Recommendations to governments States need to make an informed decision as to where their own position lies on the application of international law to cyber activity.
Intelligence agencies and foreign services within a state need to speak with one voice.
But the relationship of these and other cyberattack attributions to international law is not well understood.
Attributions interact with international law in at least in two ways.
First, cyberattack attribution announcements could explicitly say that particular cyberattacks violate international law.
