26 October 2023

Article: Governments and hackers agree: the laws of war must apply in cyberspace

There is a persistent myth that cyberspace is a lawless wild west. This could not be further from the truth. There is a clear international consensus that existing laws of war apply online.

Author: Professor Johanna Weaver

Professor Johanna Weaver was a member of the ICRC Global Advisory Board on Digital Threats During Armed conflict referred to in this article.

There are rules in war. International humanitarian law regulates what combatants can and can’t do, with the goal of protecting civilians and limiting suffering.

Most of these laws were developed during the 19th and 20th centuries. But in our own century a new kind of battlefield has emerged: the domain of cyberattacks, digital campaigns and online information operations. All these have played a heightened role in Russia’s war in Ukraine and, increasingly, in the current Israel–Hamas conflict.

There is a persistent myth that cyberspace is a lawless wild west. This could not be further from the truth. There is a clear international consensus that existing laws of war apply online.

In the past month, we have seen three significant developments in this area. Rules for “civilian hackers” have begun to gain traction. A new international humanitarian report has recommended ways forward for governments, tech companies and others. And the International Criminal Court has for the first time signalled that it considers cyber warfare to fall within its jurisdiction.

Rules for hacktivists

On October 4 2023, two advisers to the International Committee of the Red Cross proposed a set of rules for “civilian hackers” during war. The proposals include things like “do not conduct any cyber operation against medical and humanitarian facilities” and “when planning a cyber attack against a military objective, do everything feasible to avoid or minimize the effects your operation may have on civilians”.

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About Professor Johanna Weaver

Professor Weaver is the founding Director of the Tech Policy Design Centre at the Australian National University. Earlier, she was Australia’s chief cyber negotiator at the United Nations. A recovering diplomat and a reformed commercial litigator, Professor Weaver is proudly neurodiverse. She champions tech policy as a tool to shape technology for the long-term benefit of humanity.

The article was originally published on The Conversation, click here to read the full article.

Relevant links:

Final report from the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict (2023)

8 rules for “civilian hackers” during war, and 4 obligations for states to restrain them, by Tilman Rodenhauser and Mauro Vignati, via the Humanitarian Law & Policy, hosted by the ICRC