States’ drafting of explicit national attribution policies is anchored in the law of state responsibility in cyberspace. Such policies do not necessarily promote frequent (or any) attribution. Rather, they draw attention to the multifaceted aspects of attribution and the need for careful political consideration in making affirmative, deferring or negative attribution decisions. While actual content direction remains the prerogative of …
Rule of Law in Cyberspace
As Montesquieu advocated, the rule of law and separation of powers are necessary to protect citizens and individuals from arbitrary rule by the state. Intensified measures to secure cyberspace risk leading to expert and political decisionmaking being kept outside of public and political debate and scrutiny. Deliberate separation of state cyber agencies and functions strengthens the rule of law, transparency …
Deterrence: A Naked Emperor
Researchers do not agree whether, when or how deterrence works. It is a risky policy that does not provide any predictability of behaviour, to which the European Union should not subscribe. The EU should instead develop stronger, multi-layered resilience in and for Europe. Such a policy would be protective rather than threatening, persuasive rather than dissuasive, defensive rather than deterring and active rather than opportunist.