In this rapidly evolving field of new technology, the ICRC calls on States to deploy cyber operations only within the confines of existing international law, in particular international humanitarian law, and uses the opportunity to address seven key law and policy questions on cyber operations during armed conflict. As cyber operations are today conducted during armed conflicts, the ICRC is concerned about their potential harm to humans. All UN Member States are participating in the Open-Ended Working Group, experts from 25 States are convening in the Group of Governmental Experts, and tech companies and civil society have joined the debates on some occasions.Īs the organization mandated by States to work towards an understanding of international humanitarian law, its faithful application during armed conflicts, and to prepare any developments of this body of law, the ICRC has participated in several of these discussions and shared its positions with all States. Recent months have seen an unprecedented peak in intergovernmental discussions on existing and potential threats in cyberspace, the applicability of international law in that sphere, and how norms can help avert the significant threats posed by malicious cyber activities.
The UN Secretary General has voiced his concern that if a major conflict were to break out today ‘it would start with a massive, massive cyber attack, not only on military installations, but some civilian infrastructure’. The ICRC is particularly concerned about the vulnerability of hospitals to cyber attacks – a risk that is acute at all times but even more dangerous in times of conflict or pandemics, such as the current COVID-19 crisis. You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to see it: in today’s digitally dependent world, cyber attacks pose real threats for critical infrastructure and the functioning of societies. Cyber operations during armed conflict: 7 essential law and policy questions.
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