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This won’t be a revelation to most of my followers, but perhaps if you share this post, it'll find its way to those out there who are still wondering about this question: IS CYBERSPACE A LEGAL VACUUM?
Spoiler alert: no it isn’t.
A brief thread:
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Spoiler alert: no it isn’t.
A brief thread:
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I have just read this topical piece in the @NewYorker, surveying the cyber threat landscape in 2021 and beyond.
/2 https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/after-the-solarwinds-hack-we-have-no-idea-what-cyber-dangers-we-face
/2 https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/after-the-solarwinds-hack-we-have-no-idea-what-cyber-dangers-we-face
At the @ICRC, we share the author @suehalpernVT's assessment that the use of cyber operations poses a real risk of harm to civilians. We even published a whole report about it:
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/potential-human-cost-cyber-operations
(Yes, it has a short 'n sweet executive summary
)
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https://www.icrc.org/en/document/potential-human-cost-cyber-operations
(Yes, it has a short 'n sweet executive summary
)/3
However, it simply isn’t true that “there are no rules of engagement in cyberspace”.
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At least since 2013, there is a global consensus that international law applies in cyberspace. That includes the U.N. Charter, which codifies a general prohibition on the use of force between states.
https://undocs.org/A/68/98
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https://undocs.org/A/68/98
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In addition, in the unfortunate event that a war breaks out, international humanitarian law ( #IHL) affords a thick layer of legal protection to the civilian populations, including against cyber operations.
/7 https://www.icrc.org/en/document/cyber-warfare-ihl-provides-additional-layer-protection
/7 https://www.icrc.org/en/document/cyber-warfare-ihl-provides-additional-layer-protection
This has been reaffirmed by many states, including the US. Its Law of War Manual even has an entire chapter dedicated to “how [IHL] principles and rules apply to relatively novel cyber capabilities”.
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https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DoD%20Law%20of%20War%20Manual%20-%20June%202015%20Updated%20Dec%202016.pdf?ver=2016-12-13-172036-190
![This has been reaffirmed by many states, including the US. Its Law of War Manual even has an entire chapter dedicated to “how [IHL] principles and rules apply to relatively novel cyber capabilities”. /8 https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DoD%20Law%20of%20War%20Manual%20-%20June%202015%20Updated%20Dec%202016.pdf?ver=2016-12-13-172036-190](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtUBjAiXMAE_0BW.jpg "This has been reaffirmed by many states, including the US. Its Law of War Manual even has an entire chapter dedicated to “how [IHL] principles and rules apply to relatively novel cyber capabilities”. /8 https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DoD%20Law%20of%20War%20Manual%20-%20June%202015%20Updated%20Dec%202016.pdf?ver=2016-12-13-172036-190")
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https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DoD%20Law%20of%20War%20Manual%20-%20June%202015%20Updated%20Dec%202016.pdf?ver=2016-12-13-172036-190
And the relevant #IHL rules are aplenty. They include the prohibition of attacks against the civilian infrastructure and special protection for hospitals and objects indispensable to the survival of the population such as drinking water installations.
/9 https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2019/11/28/cyber-operations-ihl-five-key-points/
/9 https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2019/11/28/cyber-operations-ihl-five-key-points/
So, any state-sponsored cyber operation that would—as mentioned in the article—“destroy whole swaths of [a] country” would certainly fall foul of several of these prohibitions.
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![So, any state-sponsored cyber operation that would—as mentioned in the article—“destroy whole swaths of [a] country” would certainly fall foul of several of these prohibitions./10](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtUC0VvXcAMeyH3.jpg "So, any state-sponsored cyber operation that would—as mentioned in the article—“destroy whole swaths of [a] country” would certainly fall foul of several of these prohibitions./10")
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This is not to say that the existing law addresses every new problem, but we should refrain from suggesting that cyber operations occur in a legal vacuum.
They do not, and cyberspace is no Wild West.
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They do not, and cyberspace is no Wild West.
/end
