Cybersecurity

The need for international law in cyberspace

The international community is still grappling with how to create a framework for normative behaviors, or norms, for how states should act and use cyber. 

The current track has been to apply the rules of war, conflict and international law to a domain that by its very nature enables a great deal of confusion and obfuscation. 

One of the key efforts in crafting internationally recognized norms in cyberspace has been the Tallinn Manual project, which recently celebrated the release of “Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations.” Tallinn 2.0 follows the first Tallinn Manual, released in 2013, which focused on cyber operations that violate the prohibition of the use of force in international relations, where one state must not coerce another state with regard to things reserved to that state.