Law of Armed Conflict and Information Warfare-How Does the Rule Regarding Reprisals Apply to an Information Warfare Attack

摘要

The question of how to characterize an information warfare attack, particularly what is known as a hacker attack: has not been fully developed. It must be, though, in order to understand how a nation can respond to it. This paper explores applicable tenets of international law. It identifies various methods of engaging in the spectrum of activities known as information warfare, and then discusses the one that has been underexplored in the context of a military response. Finally, it addresses the applicability of the law of armed conflict to a 'hacker attack.' Given that during wartime, almost any means of imposing one belligerent's will on another is legitimate, subject to the various tenets international law, the question that needs to be addressed is what range of activities is permissible during times other than war, when parties are not engaged in traditionally understood applications of armed force. 'The current body of international law seems to mitigate against including hacking in the definition of armed force,' the standard necessary for unilateral military armed reprisal actions. In that case, unless the initial attack rises to the level that would permit some action by the 'victim' in self-defense, that nation is relegated to seeking action from the United Nations Security Council.