Ways to combat cybersecurity crimes

Abstract

Cyberspace is a digital environment reliant on information technology, dealing with elements of informational networks and data processing at an extraordinary speed. Cyber power can be used to launch cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, whether civilian or military. Cyberwarfare represents a modern means and method of armed conflict, embodied in cyber operations whose effects mirror those of traditional armed conflicts or accompany hostile actions within the context of armed conflicts. A notable example is the recent cyberattack in Lebanon, which involved disabling paging devices ("pagers") in accordance with the objectives of international humanitarian law. Cyberwarfare is intrinsically linked to the nature of cybersecurity, which aims to protect information and electronic systems from various cyber threats. This protection includes implementing a set of measures and techniques to prevent such threats and manage them when they occur, involving international system actors in today’s world—not only states and international organizations but also non-state actors. Thus, examining the extent to which domestic laws and international humanitarian law principles can be applied to cyberwarfare becomes essential. The increasing reliance of states on cyberattacks in their conflicts has subjected the rules of international humanitarian law to a real and complex test. This challenge revolves around whether these long-established international rules, codified decades ago, can apply to cyberattacks, which have emerged within the past decade. The difficulty of applying international rules to cyberattacks and subjecting them to the authority of these principles intersects with another issue: the lack of clarity surrounding the concept of direct participation in hostilities under international humanitarian law. The involvement of a significant number of individuals—both combatants and civilians—in modern hostilities has blurred the boundaries of the concept of direct participation to the extent that it has become difficult to clearly distinguish between direct and indirect participants in such operations. The convergence of cyberattacks with direct participation has exacerbated and complicated the challenges related to the application of international humanitarian rules. This is particularly true when direct participants in cyberattacks belong to the category of civilians. In such cases, international humanitarian rules protecting civilians overlap with those related to combatants who directly engage in hostilities, along with the principles concerning their targeting. Direct participation in this context represents the core challenge to the proper application of international humanitarian law and its principles.