Cyber Warfare Opens A New Front Against Civilians

Technology is a plant that is forever growing and humanity cannot currently anticipate its full height or width. The increasing use of cyberspace for virtually everything in contemporary life creates a scenario where we cannot imagine life without all the convenience it has brought.

Modern warfare is increasingly adjusting its power towards cyberspace as opposed to the traditional weapons.

The unique nature of cyberwarfare is that it does not need matching armies, it only needs keyboards, the equivalent of gunpowder in current warfare. This means that nations have lost their monopoly to wage war thus making armed conflicts more dangerous while leaving civilians ever more exposed.

Anyone with a keyboard and the skills can launch cyber-attacks against the state or any other entity that can be targeted. In a doomsday scenario, it paints a war of everyone against everyone because the skills can be learnt easily by anyone and the attendant tools are available for download on the Internet.

As such, the ability to enjoy e-commerce, among other advantages, does not come devoid of the possible damage that could result from full-scale cyberwar. In the words of Anthony Sinopoli, “The potential for disastrous consequences in a nuclear attack can be matched in the case of an all-out attack using cyber-warfare.

The example of a cyber-attack where critical infrastructures are destroyed or otherwise rendered useless can leave a state in a helpless position, causing unnecessary suffering to its citizens.”

Despite its convenience and its ability to launch attacks effectively without marching troops, there is no war that has been waged purely on cyber means.

Contemporary warfare incorporates the cyber capabilities alongside traditional methods and weapons. For instance, the Russian cyber-attacks against Ukraine and Georgia combined cyber attacks and kinetic means.

However, it is plausible that a full-scale cyberwar is possible even though recent conflicts have not been waged in that fashion. We are in the early days of keyboard combatants, and thus the future portends wars that may eliminate the need for physical armies in the invaded country.

Why, say, would a country expose its soldiers to possible injuries when it can comfortably cripple them by executing malware?

The wide ranging capabilities of cyber warfare can be deceptive as to what is allowed in the context of an armed conflict. Under the laws of armed conflict, not every action is permissible.

In other words, just because you can do something does not mean it necessarily becomes legal.In cyber-warfare, you can attack and disable hospitals or destroy dams remotely or through malware but it amounts to a violation of the laws of war. However, not every violation of the laws of war is a war crime. War crimes are a special category within the laws of armed conflict. War crimes can only occur within an existing state of war, an armed conflict.

In this case, this distinction is important because war crimes can be cyber-crimes but the reverse is not necessarily true.

The law of armed conflict provides a list of the actions that qualify as war crimes, for example willful killing, torture, biological experiments, taking hostages, or unlawful deportation. It is possible to commit egregious violations of the law of armed conflict through cyberwarfare but they will not necessarily become war crimes.

But it is not enough to classify actions as cybercrime or war crimes. The alleged crimes must be proved through admissible evidence to sustain a conviction, or to an acquittal.

Cyberwarfare is a realm where actions, violations or omissions leave no definitive evidence. Any court faced with alleged crimes of cyber-warfare will need to exercise judicial novelty.

Depending on the skillset of the perpetrators, it is possible to implicate an innocent user of cyber-space while absolving themselves of any crime.

There are no blood stains or fingerprints because sophisticated actors can erase all evidence of their involvement. Hence, war crimes by keyboard combatants are harder to prove.
 
The main challenge in the issue of evidence is because cyber weapons have no ethnicity, nationality or geographic identification. Cyberspace knows no boundaries and its weapons come with a faceless nature which traverses all keyboards, whether Kenyan or American, Estonian or Tanzanian.

The relevant provisions of Hague Law or Geneva Law can address all violations of humanitarian law committed through cyber warfare. Thus, it is needless to forge such any convention. States should rather wait for the slow crystallisation of customary law on cyber warfare than act in vain.

Ein News:

You Might Also Read:

Cybersecurity: The Cold War Online:

The Stage Is Set For Cyber War:

 

« There Are No Civilians In Cyber Warfare
Kenya Is 3rd in Africa for Cybercrime Readiness »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Cyber Security Supplier Directory

Cyber Security Supplier Directory

Our Supplier Directory lists 6,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

ManageEngine

ManageEngine

As the IT management division of Zoho Corporation, ManageEngine prioritizes flexible solutions that work for all businesses, regardless of size or budget.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

Watch this webinar to hear security experts from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SANS break down the myths and realities of what an NGFW is, how to use one, and what it can do for your security posture.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

Cybsecurity Foundation (CSF)

Cybsecurity Foundation (CSF)

Cybsecurity is a non-profit NGO, which aims to work on improvement of security levels in the Polish cyberspace.

Data Shepherd

Data Shepherd

Data Shepherds primary focus is to protect your business. We achieve this by offering extensive and unique expertise in innovative IT and Cyber security solutions.

PECB

PECB

PECB is a certification body for persons, management systems, and products on a wide range of international standards in a range of areas including Information Security and Risk Management.

NAVEX Global

NAVEX Global

NAVEX Global’s compliance management system consolidates your entire GRC program onto a scalable cloud-based platform.

NLnet Labs

NLnet Labs

NLnet Labs is a not-for-profit foundation with a long heritage in research and development, Internet architecture and governance, as well as security in the area of DNS and inter-domain routing.

British Blockchain Association (BBA)

British Blockchain Association (BBA)

British Blockchain Association (BBA) is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes evidence-based adoption of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) across the public and private sector

Zero Networks

Zero Networks

With Zero Network, you can achieve affordable, airtight network access security at scale.

CyVolve

CyVolve

Cyvolve is the next great leap forward in data security, ensuring constant encryption and pervasive control over all your data.

Fly Ventures

Fly Ventures

Fly Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund for outstanding teams building Enterprise and Deep Tech startups in Europe.

Conatix

Conatix

Conatix was formed to apply recent advances in AI and other fields of technology to insider fraud, one of the most intractable problems in cybersecurity.

Transmit Security

Transmit Security

The Transmit Security Platform provides a solution for managing identity across applications while maintaining security and usability.

EnigmaSoft

EnigmaSoft

EnigmaSoft is known for its PC anti-malware remediation utility and service under the tradename SpyHunter.

MorganFranklin Consulting

MorganFranklin Consulting

MorganFranklin Consulting is a management advisory firm that works with businesses and government to address complex and transformational technology and business objectives including cybersecurity.

Picnic

Picnic

Picnic is a gritty, pioneering team of intelligence and cybersecurity specialists focused on solving the security challenge of our time - social engineering.

Emtec

Emtec

Emtec’s cyber security team provides advisory, assessment, & managed security services that help you build the cyber security policies, toolsets & best practices to elevate your cyber security posture

Benchmark Executive Search

Benchmark Executive Search

Benchmark specializes in finding elite talent for startup, emerging-growth and mid-cap companies offering game-changing technologies or innovative services to the federal and commercial markets.