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Abstract
With the rapid advancement in communication technology, there has been an increase in computer-related attacks aimed at both the hardware and software of countries' computer systems. Some of these attacks are private actors working for their own goals, but other attacks are committed by nations seeking to exploit weaknesses in their adversaries' computer technology systems. Despite more frequent occurrences of these cyber attacks, the international community has yet to adopt a framework to govern the rules nations are to follow in this new arena of warfare. This comment describes the history of cyber warfare and the modem cyber weapons nations and private actors are utilizing in this new battlefield. This comment then describes the existing legal framework governing armed conflicts and its applicability to cyber warfare. Also discussed within this comment is how cyber espionage could play a role in shaping international law. Finally, this comment covers proposed ideas relating to what framework could govern cyber warfare and what that framework could substantively entail.
I. Introduction
With the advent of computers, and subsequently the networks that connected them, a new door was opened in the hallways of warfare. Now, not only are conventional military weapons guided, tracked, and targeted by computers, but the computer systems themselves have become weapons. Much like other facets of technology, these new cyber weapons have evolved rapidly, much quicker than the legal frameworks that govern armed conflicts. But this has not helped slow the pace at which attacks involving cyber weapons have taken place. In fact, even as this comment was being researched and written, another round of cyber attacks was launched, this time at the United States, and major news out- lets reported the discovery of large scale cyber espionage operations.1 Due to the nature of cyber warfare, the frequency of such attacks is only going to increase, which is why nations must understand and clarify the appropriate legal frameworks that govern such weapons in international law.
This comment will discuss cyber warfare and the applicable legal regimes that may govern this area of law. The first portion will give a history of the technology that allowed cyber warfare to come into existence, while also describing common cyber weapons at play in the global theatre. Additionally,...