A treaty for governing cyber-weapons: Potential benefits and practical limitations

Despite a greater willingness on the part of States to enter into a dialogue on the potential implications of cyber warfare, there is continued disagreement on whether new rules are required to govern this `new domain' and, if so, whether such rules should be in codified form or be left to evolve through a natural progression of customary international law. Closely interlinked with these questions is the distinct issue of whether there is a need for an arms control treaty. To speak of an arms control treaty or the regulation of a particular weapon by reference to the law of armed conflict (LOAC) is to presuppose a common conception of the particular type of weapon that is under discussion. This paper therefore poses the question, `What is a cyber-weapon?' before considering whether an arms control treaty is a feasible option, let alone whether such a treaty would be capable of addressing the concerns that have been raised by its proponents. This paper also considers existing LOAC rules to identify the issues that are unique to cyber-weapons and, in doing so, it is argued that further clarification is indeed merited.