Geneva Conventions for Cyber Warriors Long Overdue

摘要

Cyber warfare is a fact of the modern world. However, there is no clear international law that distinguishes between warfare, terrorism, crime or vandalism. As a result, U.S. military cyber warriors are operating without the protections and restrictions their kinetic brethren enjoy under the Geneva Conventions. The road to those agreements was long, but necessary and it needs to be trod again — before civilians suffer the consequences of unrestricted cyber warfare. In the last decade, U.S. and international leaders have recognized the military implications of the growing threat. The United States established Cyber Command in 2009 and the Navy stood up the 10th Fleet in 2010 to direct cyber operations and defense. Ret. Adm. James Stavridis, the supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of NATO from 2009 to 2013, argued further for a separate service branch, a cyber force. However, a U.S. cyber force would be a service branch and combatant with no direcdy applicable international law of warfare. After years of study, NATO only applies pre-cyber era international law to cyber operations, both conducted by and directed against states.