Do Nations Have the Right To Kill Enemy Hackers? 482
Nerval's Lobster writes "Cyber-attacks are much in the news lately, thanks to some well-publicized hacks and rising concerns over malware. Many of these attacks are likely backed in some way by governments anxious to seize intellectual property, or simply probe other nations' IT infrastructure. But do nations actually have a right to fire off a bomb or a clip of ammunition at cyber-attackers, especially if a rival government is backing the latter as part of a larger hostile action? Should a military hacker, bored and exhausted from twelve-hour days of building malware, be regarded in the same way as a soldier with a rifle? Back in 2009, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (which also exists under the lengthy acronym NATO CCD COE) commissioned a panel of experts to produce a report on the legal underpinnings of cyber-warfare. NATO CCD COE isn't funded by NATO, and nor is it a part of that organization's command-and-control structure—but those experts did issue a nonbinding report (known as "The Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare") exploring the ramifications of cyber-attacks, and what targeted nations can do in response. It's an interesting read, and the experts do suggest that, under circumstances, a nation under cyber-attack can respond to the cyber-attackers with "kinetic force," so long as that force is proportional. Do you agree?"
Strongly Agree (Score:5, Funny)
Now, to hack into RIAA headquarters and launch an attack from there in the name of Al Quaeda! Take off every drone!
Re:Yes. (Score:5, Funny)
Let's do it. This would solve the growing cost of pensions, and open up lawns for kids everywhere.
Finally... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Libya, not Syria (Score:5, Funny)
"Whups - we launched missiles into Libya, not Syria. Hard to keep these issues straight. I don't believe we launched missiles into Syria yet - have we?"
And that, kids, is American foreign policy in a nutshell, right there.
Re:Proportionate Response (Score:4, Funny)
Well, one could calculate the total amount of force used by the hacker while pressing his keys and retaliate proportionally.
So if the hacker's been pounding away on his beloved Model-M, then we can drop a bunker buster on him and call it even.
His neighbors would probably appreciate the quiet too.
Re:Yes. (Score:5, Funny)
Or we could do what Kirk did and destroy all the critical computer systems, thus forcing the cyber-attackers to build real bombs to wage real war rather than their current cyber-war.
Then we could invite the cyber-attackers to a peace conference, since they'd now be afraid of real pain and suffering.
Then we could kill them all at that conference.