IHL in Cyberspace

I am currently in another moot team for a Competition which primarily delves into International Humanitarian Law ("IHL"). IHL is the body of treaty and customary rules that govern in times of armed conflict. One of its main tenets is that civilians are to be protected and respected - meaning that they should never be the objects of attack. This of course, has an exception, when the civilians engage directly in armed conflict.


Interestingly, in accordance with the existent opinions of authorities in international law, a person who does not bear arms but only computer networks to destroy or damage the adverse party's computer system can be considered a person directly engaged in armed conflict. Consequently, they can be killed legitimately, and no punishment is imputable to the person who does such. An article from the International Committee of the Red Cross states that:

Computer Network Attacks (CNAs) are conducted long-distance through radio waves or international communication networks. While they may not involve direct physical damage,the resulting system malfunctions can be as devastating. Computer Network Exploitation(CNE), namely “the ability to gain access to information hosted on information systems and the ability to make use of the system itself”, though not of a direct destructive nature, could have equally significant military implications; an example would be a belligerent’s ability to secure full information on an adversary’s location. The issue, therefore, to be determined is whether civilians engaging in a CNA or a CNE during an armed conflict are directly participating in hostilities.

The article further states that:

“the crux of the matter is not the medium at hand (a computer server in lieu of, say, an artillery battery), but the violent consequences of the action taken. If there is a cause and effect chain between the CNA and these violent consequences, it is immaterial that they were produced by high rather than low technology”.


This was taken from:http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/direct-participationreport_res/$File/2003-02-background-document-icrc.pdf, accessed on 5 March 2010.