The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law
In response to the rising trend of civilian hackers participating in cyber conflicts, the International Committee of the Red Cross has recently issued guidelines regulating their conduct. This article navigates the intricate legal landscape surrounding civilians who actively participate in cyber hos...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Polish |
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Lodz University Press
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Iuridica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/Iuridica/article/view/22973 |
| _version_ | 1797201039364980736 |
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| author | Michał Byczyński |
| author_facet | Michał Byczyński |
| author_sort | Michał Byczyński |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In response to the rising trend of civilian hackers participating in cyber conflicts, the International Committee of the Red Cross has recently issued guidelines regulating their conduct. This article navigates the intricate legal landscape surrounding civilians who actively participate in cyber hostilities, exploring the concept of direct participation in hostilities (DPH) in the context of cyber warfare. Given the unique nature of cyber warfare, the article highlights the need for a nuanced and context-specific approach in determining the legal status of civilians involved in cyber hostilities. It underscores the importance of distinguishing between actions linked to an ongoing armed conflict and those that occur independently. The piece discusses the challenges in defining civilians in cyber warfare, the principles of distinction and proportionality, the criteria for qualifying a civilian as a “direct participant of hostilities” and the concept of continuous combat function (CCF), which distinguishes civilians continuously involved in cyber hostilities from those sporadically or ad hoc engaged. The article also delves into the temporal challenges in cyber operations and the “revolving door” concept, which complicates the application of DPH status in cyber warfare. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:41:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4cc18f7b26364149b696c456ce104cd4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0208-6069 2450-2782 |
| language | Polish |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:41:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Lodz University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Iuridica |
| spelling | doaj.art-4cc18f7b26364149b696c456ce104cd42024-04-19T13:52:43ZpolLodz University PressActa Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Iuridica0208-60692450-27822024-03-011069710910.18778/0208-6069.106.0623253The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian LawMichał Byczyński0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6856-0627University of Lodz, Doctoral School of Social Sciences In response to the rising trend of civilian hackers participating in cyber conflicts, the International Committee of the Red Cross has recently issued guidelines regulating their conduct. This article navigates the intricate legal landscape surrounding civilians who actively participate in cyber hostilities, exploring the concept of direct participation in hostilities (DPH) in the context of cyber warfare. Given the unique nature of cyber warfare, the article highlights the need for a nuanced and context-specific approach in determining the legal status of civilians involved in cyber hostilities. It underscores the importance of distinguishing between actions linked to an ongoing armed conflict and those that occur independently. The piece discusses the challenges in defining civilians in cyber warfare, the principles of distinction and proportionality, the criteria for qualifying a civilian as a “direct participant of hostilities” and the concept of continuous combat function (CCF), which distinguishes civilians continuously involved in cyber hostilities from those sporadically or ad hoc engaged. The article also delves into the temporal challenges in cyber operations and the “revolving door” concept, which complicates the application of DPH status in cyber warfare.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/Iuridica/article/view/22973cyberwarhacktivistscivilian hackersdirect participation in hostilitiesrussia-ukraine war |
| spellingShingle | Michał Byczyński The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Iuridica cyberwar hacktivists civilian hackers direct participation in hostilities russia-ukraine war |
| title | The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law |
| title_full | The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law |
| title_fullStr | The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law |
| title_short | The Legal Status of ‘Civilian Hackers’ under International Humanitarian Law |
| title_sort | legal status of civilian hackers under international humanitarian law |
| topic | cyberwar hacktivists civilian hackers direct participation in hostilities russia-ukraine war |
| url | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/Iuridica/article/view/22973 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michałbyczynski thelegalstatusofcivilianhackersunderinternationalhumanitarianlaw AT michałbyczynski legalstatusofcivilianhackersunderinternationalhumanitarianlaw |