The Ethics of Cyber Warfare

Abstract

As modern society advances technologically, information networks have become vulnerable to wrongdoing by malicious states and non-state actors. With recent strikes affecting critical infrastructures around the globe, the threats associated with cyber attacks no longer seem like science fiction. While the world has not yet faced catastrophic cyber assaults, our dependency on information networks exposes us to potentially devastating attacks. These technologies present attractive targets for cyber attackers aiming to undermine national interests or even to threaten state sovereignty. The international community is at a critical juncture: we now have the opportunity to determine what is morally permissible with regard to cyber warfare before we are ever faced with a worst-case scenario.