Collaborative Research: Developing a Normative Framework for Cyber Warfare

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Project Overview The PIs propose to develop a normative framework for policies of cyber warfare. They plan to conduct an investigation into cyber warfare practices and to evaluate the extent to which current cyber warfare conforms to basic war ethics principles underlying the Hague and Geneva conventions including discrimination, attribution, proportionality, and deception. For these purposes, they are partnering with the Consortium for Emerging Technologies, Military Operations, and National Security (CETMONS). Intellectual Merit The US is clearly worried about cyber attacks; other nations could inflict serious damage to military capabilities, as well as strike physical targets and infrastructure, with more anonymity and without placing their soldiers at risk. In response to these prospects, the US is developing a thoughtful plan to operate with greater safety and security in cyberspace. However, cyber warfare also poses great challenges to just war theory, the basis for international laws of armed conflict. This project fills an important need by investigating tensions with the basic principles of war, helping to determine the permissibility and policies of cyber warfare. It will provide a concise set of normative principles that could also serve to safeguard cyberspace, which is increasingly essential to modern life. Broader Impact The results of this project will include a comprehensive report on cyber warfare ethics, a university-level ethics course, and an edited volume that would serve as a text for such a course. This report will identify specific options for a coherent cyber war ethics in clear language useful for policymakers. The PIs plan to solicit input and disseminate their research through public workshops, one at the beginning and another at the end of the project, as well as conference and classroom talks throughout.