Legality in Cyberspace: An Adversary View

Abstract

The United States and its allies are in general agreement on the legal status of conflict in cyberspace. Although key principles remain unresolved, such as what precisely constitutes an armed attack or use of force in cyberspace, overall there is a broad legal consensus among Euro-Atlantic nations that existing international law and international commitments are sufficient to regulate cyber conflict. This principle is described in multiple authoritative legal commentaries. But these can imply misleadingly that this consensus is global and unchallenged. In fact, China, Russia, and a number of like-minded nations have an entirely different concept of the applicability of international law to cyberspace as a whole, including to the nature of conflict within it. These nations could therefore potentially operate in cyberspace according to entirely different understandings of what is permissible under international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, and other legal baskets governing conduct during hostilities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA597232

Entities

People

  • Andrew Monaghan
  • Keir Giles

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computer Networks
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cyberspace
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Freedom Of Speech
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Information Operations
  • Information Warfare
  • International Law
  • Internet
  • Law
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Social Media
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Cyber - Legality in Cyberspace