A Battle in Bits and Bytes. Computer Network Attacks and the Law of Armed Conflict

This report surveys one new facet of technology: computer network attacks, from the framework of the law of armed conflict by asking if the existing law of armed conflict, the main parts of which have their origins in the legacies of two World Wars, applies to computer network attacks. Moreover, the report addresses the questions of the perpetrators of the computer network attacks in the context of the law of armed conflict, what targets can be attacked with the means and methods of computer network attacks and how these attacks should be conducted under the laws of armed conflict.