Global Cybersecurity and International Law

Antonio Segura Serrano (Editor)

ISBN: 9781032382319

Published: May 2024

Format: Hardcover, 230 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Routledge (Routledge Research in Information Technology and E-Commerce Law)

Description

Can international law, written for a world of armies and borders, govern conflict in cyberspace? This edited volume offers a critical analysis of global cybersecurity from the perspective of public international law. It tests whether existing rules on the threat and use of force, sovereignty, due diligence and state responsibility can cope with malicious cyber operations, and redefines the notions of cyberwar and cyberpeace for the era of the Internet of Things.

Eleven chapters by leading scholars from Europe and the United States examine the most pressing questions in the field: when a cyber operation amounts to a threat of force, whether sovereignty is a binding rule in cyberspace, how states can attribute cyberattacks, how gray-zone activities challenge the global legal order, and how cyberespionage collides with human rights. The book closes with the institutional response, covering the EU's cybersecurity policy, the Budapest Convention and the initiative for a United Nations convention against cybercrime, and the case for a public interest defence for security researchers.

Key Features

• A holistic examination of how public international law applies to cyberspace, from the use of force to human rights
• Dedicated chapters on the hardest doctrinal questions: sovereignty, due diligence and cyber attribution
• Analysis of gray-zone cyber activities that fall below the threshold of armed attack
• Assessment of reforms needed at the UN, the EU, the Council of Europe and NATO
• Practical application: a framework for assessing state responsibility and attribution when advising governments or clients affected by state-backed cyber operations
• Practical application: analysis of nation-state sponsored ransomware and its impact on insurance markets, directly relevant to cyber insurance coverage and war-exclusion disputes
• Practical application: a comparative reading of the Budapest Convention and the UN cybercrime initiative for practitioners handling cross-border cybercrime cooperation and evidence requests

Coverage

Global cybersecurity and international law · Cyber operations as threats of force · Sovereignty in cyberspace · Due diligence obligations of states · Cyber attribution · Gray-zone cyber activities · Cyberespionage and human rights · State-sponsored ransomware and insurance markets · EU cybersecurity policy · Budapest Convention · UN convention against cybercrime · Public interest defence for security research

About the Authors

Antonio Segura Serrano is Professor of International Law and EU Law at the University of Granada. His research covers cyberspace law, international economic and trade law, humanitarian law and EU law. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Challenge of Global Cybersecurity (Tirant lo Blanch, 2023, in Spanish) and The Reform of International Economic Governance (Routledge, 2016).

Contributors include Karine Bannelier, Nicholas Tsagourias, Fiona Middleton, Scott Shackelford, Audrey Guinchard, Triantafyllos Kouloufakos, Leonhard Kreuzer, Guillem Colom-Piella, Gloria Fernández-Arribas, Sophie Duroy, Liliya Khasanova and Ana Gascón Marcén.

Table of Contents

1. The Challenge of Global Cybersecurity (Antonio Segura Serrano)
2. Cyber Operations as Threats of Force: A Welcome Addition or Splitting Hair? (Triantafyllos Kouloufakos)
3. Sovereignty in Cyberspace – A Rule Without Content? (Leonhard Kreuzer)
4. Due Diligence as a Cardinal Principle in the Fight Against Malicious Cyber Activities (Karine Bannelier)
5. Cyber Attribution and its Challenges (Fiona Middleton and Nicholas Tsagourias)
6. Cyber Activities in the Gray Zone: The New Challenge to the Global Legal Order (Guillem Colom-Piella and Gloria Fernández-Arribas)
7. Cyberespionage and Human Rights: A Disappointing Balance (Sophie Duroy and Liliya Khasanova)
8. Wargames: Analysing the Rise of Nation-State Sponsored Ransomware Attacks and their Impact on Insurance Markets (Scott Shackelford)
9. The EU's Cyber Security Policy: Results and Context (Antonio Segura Serrano)
10. The Budapest Convention and the New Initiative for a United Nations Convention to Fight Cybercrime (Ana Gascón Marcén)
11. Towards a Supportive Legal Environment for Global Cybersecurity: The Case for a Public Interest Defence in International Legal Instruments on Cybercrime (Audrey Guinchard)

Why buy this book?

Most writing on cybersecurity is technical or national. This book is one of the few to ask, chapter by chapter, what international law actually requires of states in cyberspace, and where it falls short. With state-backed ransomware, gray-zone operations and cyberespionage now routine features of international relations, and with the UN cybercrime convention adopted by the General Assembly in December 2024, the questions it raises are live ones for governments, international organisations, law firms and insurers. It gives legal advisers and researchers a single, well-structured reference that connects doctrine on force, sovereignty and attribution with the institutional frameworks that are being built to respond.

Keywords

global cybersecurity, international law, cyber operations, use of force in cyberspace, cyber sovereignty, due diligence, cyber attribution, gray zone, cyberespionage, human rights, ransomware, cyber insurance, EU cybersecurity policy, Budapest Convention, UN cybercrime convention, cyber diplomacy

Target Audience

International lawyers, government legal advisers, cybersecurity policymakers, legal academics, postgraduate law students, cyber insurance professionals, law and university libraries

Genre

Public International Law, Cyber Law, Information Technology Law, International Security

Q&A

Q: Does international law apply to cyber operations between states?
A: Yes, and this book examines how. Its chapters test the existing rules on the threat and use of force, sovereignty, due diligence and state responsibility against real patterns of malicious cyber activity, and identify where those rules are clear and where they remain contested.

Q: Why is attribution of cyberattacks so difficult under international law?
A: Attribution requires linking an operation to a state with enough evidence to trigger legal responsibility, while attackers use proxies, false flags and infrastructure in third countries. Chapter 5, by Fiona Middleton and Nicholas Tsagourias, analyses these technical, legal and political challenges.

Q: Is sovereignty a binding rule in cyberspace or only a principle?
A: This is one of the most debated questions among states and scholars. Chapter 3 examines whether sovereignty works as a standalone rule whose violation is unlawful, and what content it actually has when applied to cyber operations.

Q: How does state-sponsored ransomware affect the insurance market?
A: Chapter 8, by Scott Shackelford, analyses the rise of nation-state sponsored ransomware and its impact on insurance markets, including how war and state-actor exclusions shape coverage when an attack is linked to a government.

Q: Does the book cover the Budapest Convention and the UN convention on cybercrime?
A: Yes. Chapter 10 compares the Council of Europe's Budapest Convention with the initiative for a United Nations convention to fight cybercrime, and Chapter 11 argues for a public interest defence in international cybercrime instruments to protect legitimate security research.

Q: Where can I buy Global Cybersecurity and International Law?
A: You can order it directly from CLNZ Books, with worldwide shipping included in the price, payment by card or PayPal, and institutional invoicing available for libraries and firms.

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