Jus ad bellum in the ‘Wild West’ – Hostile cyber operations and the right to self-defence under international law
(2021) LAGF03 20211Faculty of Law
Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Fientliga cyberoperationer ökar och staters kritiska nationella infrastrukturer står inför hotet att bli måltavlor eftersom de i större utsträckning är beroende av datanätverk. Cybersfären benämns ständigt som den ’vilda västern’ vilket antyder att det tillämpade internationella rättsliga ramverket är otillräckligt. Den internationella rätten som föreskriver jus ad bellum och dess tillämplighet på cyberoperationer i praktiken är omstritt. I cybersammanhang är trösklar till ”våldsanvändning” i artikel 2(4) och ”väpnad attack” i artikel 51 i FN-stadgan vagt specificerade och rätten till självförsvar är omtvistad.
Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka fientliga cyberoperationer som en stat bedriver mot en annan stat och jus ad bellum,... (More) - Fientliga cyberoperationer ökar och staters kritiska nationella infrastrukturer står inför hotet att bli måltavlor eftersom de i större utsträckning är beroende av datanätverk. Cybersfären benämns ständigt som den ’vilda västern’ vilket antyder att det tillämpade internationella rättsliga ramverket är otillräckligt. Den internationella rätten som föreskriver jus ad bellum och dess tillämplighet på cyberoperationer i praktiken är omstritt. I cybersammanhang är trösklar till ”våldsanvändning” i artikel 2(4) och ”väpnad attack” i artikel 51 i FN-stadgan vagt specificerade och rätten till självförsvar är omtvistad.
Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka fientliga cyberoperationer som en stat bedriver mot en annan stat och jus ad bellum, det vill säga under vilka omständigheter en attackerad stat kan tillgripa användning av våld. Vidare eftersträvas att belysa det internationella rättsliga landskapet avseende rätten till självförsvar när en stat utsätts för en cyberattack.
Den inledande delen av studien förklarar relevant cyberterminologi samt förser en allmän översikt över jus ad bellum. Huvuddelen undersöker hur jus ad bellum tillämpas på cyberoperationer även inkluderat tröskelbedömningar och ger en fallstudie av betydande cyberattacker samt staters praxis.
Det sista kapitlet som består av analys och avslutande tankar antyder att framstegen inte är proportionerliga med tanke på det snabbt växande fientliga klimatet i cyberssfären. Staters ståndpunkter är dock ett välkommet tillskott till kartläggningen av lex lata. Studien har visat att det effektbaserade tillvägagångssättet inklusive kriterierna skala och effekter har antagits av många stater vid tröskelbedömningar. Nya tendenser i staters praxis har också uppmärksammats. (Less) - Abstract
- Hostile cyber operations are on the rise and states’ critical national infrastructures are facing the threat of being targeted as they become more dependent on computer networks. Cyberspace is persistently referred to as the ‘wild West’ implicating that the applied international legal framework is insufficient. The international law stipulating jus ad bellum and its applicability to cyber operations in practice is unsettled. In the cyber context, thresholds to a “use of force” in Article 2(4) and an “armed attack” in Article 51 of the UN Charter are vaguely specified and the right to self-defence is disputed.
This thesis aims to examine hostile cyber operations that a state conducts towards another state and jus ad bellum, i.e. under... (More) - Hostile cyber operations are on the rise and states’ critical national infrastructures are facing the threat of being targeted as they become more dependent on computer networks. Cyberspace is persistently referred to as the ‘wild West’ implicating that the applied international legal framework is insufficient. The international law stipulating jus ad bellum and its applicability to cyber operations in practice is unsettled. In the cyber context, thresholds to a “use of force” in Article 2(4) and an “armed attack” in Article 51 of the UN Charter are vaguely specified and the right to self-defence is disputed.
This thesis aims to examine hostile cyber operations that a state conducts towards another state and jus ad bellum, i.e. under which circumstances a victim state may resort to the use of force. Furthermore, it strives to elucidate the international legal landscape regarding the right to self-defence when a state is subjected to a cyber attack.
The introductory part of the study explains relevant cyber terminology and gives a general overview of jus ad bellum. The main part examines how jus ad bellum applies to cyber operations including threshold assessments and provides a case study of significant cyber attacks as well as state practice.
The final chapter consisting of analysis and concluding thoughts suggest that the steps forward are not proportionate considering the rapidly expanding hostile climate in cyberspace. However, state positions are a welcomed addition to the proceedings of mapping lex lata. The study has shown that the effect-based approach including the criteria scale and effects has been adopted by many states in threshold assessments. New tendencies in the state practice have also been observed. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9045783
- author
- Bylon, Demi LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Folkrätt, Public international law, Jus ad bellum, Cyber operations, Cyber law
- language
- English
- id
- 9045783
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-29 16:49:16
- date last changed
- 2021-06-29 16:49:16
@misc{9045783,
abstract = {{Hostile cyber operations are on the rise and states’ critical national infrastructures are facing the threat of being targeted as they become more dependent on computer networks. Cyberspace is persistently referred to as the ‘wild West’ implicating that the applied international legal framework is insufficient. The international law stipulating jus ad bellum and its applicability to cyber operations in practice is unsettled. In the cyber context, thresholds to a “use of force” in Article 2(4) and an “armed attack” in Article 51 of the UN Charter are vaguely specified and the right to self-defence is disputed.
This thesis aims to examine hostile cyber operations that a state conducts towards another state and jus ad bellum, i.e. under which circumstances a victim state may resort to the use of force. Furthermore, it strives to elucidate the international legal landscape regarding the right to self-defence when a state is subjected to a cyber attack.
The introductory part of the study explains relevant cyber terminology and gives a general overview of jus ad bellum. The main part examines how jus ad bellum applies to cyber operations including threshold assessments and provides a case study of significant cyber attacks as well as state practice.
The final chapter consisting of analysis and concluding thoughts suggest that the steps forward are not proportionate considering the rapidly expanding hostile climate in cyberspace. However, state positions are a welcomed addition to the proceedings of mapping lex lata. The study has shown that the effect-based approach including the criteria scale and effects has been adopted by many states in threshold assessments. New tendencies in the state practice have also been observed.}},
author = {{Bylon, Demi}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Jus ad bellum in the ‘Wild West’ – Hostile cyber operations and the right to self-defence under international law}},
year = {{2021}},
}