Where do cyber hostilities fit in the international law maze?

Abstract

Significant portions of the international law of armed conflict are concerned with the notion of 'attack', and that is really where the first intellectual challenge confronts us when we consider notions of cyber warfare and, more specifically, of cyber attack. This chapter considers how an attack is understood in relation to cyberspace, and what challenges the use of cyberspace for hostile purposes poses to the application of various principles and rules of the law of armed conflict, particularly the principle of precaution, weapons review, and the issue of control.