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Chicago Journal of International Law

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Abstract

Scholars and policymakers are paying greater attention to the application of international law to the cause of enhancing global cybersecurity. The bulk of this research, though, has been focused on leveraging international humanitarian law to regulate the conduct of cyber warfare. Yet much of this work is largely theoretical, given how exceedingly rare it is for a cyber attack to cross the armed-attack threshold at which point the law of armed conflict is activated. Most of the cyber risk facing the public and private sectors lies in the arena of cybercrime and espionage. More scholars have been applying international law 'below the threshold' to these issues, but much more work remains to be done. This Article seeks to address this omission by offering a roadmap that synthesizes and extends work in this field. The time is ripe for a fresh look at existing international legal tools that would help us better manage the multifaceted cyber threat. Only then can an accounting be made of gaps to be filled in by norms, custom, and perhaps one day, new accords.

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