The Issue of Attribution of Acts Committed in the Information Space

INTRODUCTION. Due to the recent trend related to the use of information and communication technologies by certain states with the aim to assert their geopolitical superiority, study of the issue of attribution of responsibility for acts committed in the information space as well as possible of responses to such attacks becomes even more relevant. Therefore, in the article the problems related to international responsibility, particularities of attacks in information space and ways to attribute such attacks, as well as effectiveness of international law are analyzed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The research examines treaties, international customs, general widely recognized principles of international law, as well as resolutions, materials and documents of specialized working groups, and doctrine. General scientific and specific scientific methods of enquiry (methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction, induction, dialectical and formal legal methods) were used in the preparation of the study.

RESEARCH RESULTS. The result of the conducted research is the conclusion that it is impossible to effectively regulate issues arising from the issue of attribution of acts committed in the information space exclusively with the current international law. Therefore, there is a need to develop a relevant international treaty taking into account the provisions of the concept of the UN Convention on International Information Security. At the same time, in order to effectively attribute an act, it is important to take into account the political, technical and legal elements of attribution of responsibility.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The article considers approaches to the issue of attribution of attacks in the information space as well as of possible ways of responding to such attacks within the framework of current international law. The problem of possible application of international humanitarian law, especially issue of interpretation of “attack” for the purposes of attacks in information space was also examined. In addition, the author analyzes the provisions of the concept of the UN Convention on International Information Security.

The author concludes that current international law is not sufficient for effective attribution of an act committed in the information space. Elaboration of additional international legal regulation that would take into account the particularities of the information space is required. It is also crucial to develop international cooperation in this area, including through the creation of a global register of contact points.

1. Banks W. Cyber attribution and State responsibility. – International law studies. 2021. Vol. 97. P. 1039-1072.

2. Berson T., Denning D. Cyber warfare. – Taylon and Francis Journal. 2011. № 9 (5). P. 13-15. DOI:10.1109/ MSP.2011.132.

3. Chircop L. Territorial sovereignty in cyberspace after “Tallinn Manual 2.0”. – Melbourne journal of international law. 2019. Vol. 20. P. 349-377.

4. Clark R. M. Cyber-Physical Security: Protecting Critical Infrastructure at the State and Local Level. – Publ. Springer Cham. 2017.Vol. 3. P. 1-17. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-32824-9.

5. Edwards S., Ford R., Szappanos G. Effectively Testing APT Defences: Defining threats, addressing objections to testing and suggesting some practical approaches. – Virus bulletin conference September. 2015. P. 291-299.

6. Garkusha-Bozhko S.U. Mezhdunarodnoe gumanitarnoe pravo v kiberprostranstve: Ratione materiae, ratione temporis i problema kvalifikacii kiberatak [International humanitarian law in cyberspace: Ratione materiae, ratione temporis and the issue of qualification of cyberattacks]. – Zifrovoe parvo [Digital law]. 2021. V. 2. № 1. P. 64-82. DOI: 10.38044/2686-9136-2021-2-1-64-82. (In Russ.)

7. Ivlyushkin A.S. Primenimost' norm mezhdunarodnogo publichnogo prava k obespecheniyu bezopasnosti v kiberprostranstve: poziciya NATO. [Application of public international law norms to cybersecurity: NATO position] – Mezhdunarodnoe sotrudnichestvo evrazijskih gosudarstv: politika, ekonomika, pravo [International cooperation of the Eurasian states: politics, economics, law]. 2023. № 4. Р. 32-39. (In Russ.)

8. Jensen E.T., Watts S.A. Cyber Duty of Due Diligence: Gentle Civilizer or Crude Destabilizer? – Texas law review. 2017. Vol. 95. P. 1555-1577.

9. Kolosov U.M. Otvetstvennost' v mezhdunarodnom prave [Responsibility in international law]. 2-e izd. Moscow: Statut. 2014. (In Russ.)

10. Kotenko I.V., Hmyrov S.S. Analiz modelej i metodik, ispol'zuemyh dlja atribucii narushitelej kiberbezopasnosti pri realizacii celevyh atak [Analysis of models and techniques used to attribute cybersecurity violators in the implementation of targeted attacks]. – Voprosy kiberbezopasnosti [Cybersecurity issues]. 2022. № 4 (50). P. 52- 79. DOI: 10.21681/2311-3456-2022-4-52-79. (In Russ.)

11. Krasikov D.V. Mezhdunarodno-pravovaya otvetstvennost` gosudarstv v kiberprostranstve. [International responsibility of States in cyberspace]. – Gosudarstvo i pravo v novoj informacionnoj real`nosti [The state and law in the new information reality]. Ed. E.V. Alferova, D.A. Lovtsov. Moscow. 2018. P. 235-247. DOI: 10.31249/ pras/2018.01.11. (In Russ.)

12. Krutskih A.V., Zinov'eva E.S. Mezhdunarodnaja informacionnaja bezopasnost': podhody Rossii [International information security: Russia's approaches]. Moscow: MGIMO-Universitet. 2021. 48 p. (In Russ.)

13. Kulazhnikov V.V. Normativno-pravovoe i tekhnologicheskoe obespechenie informacionnoj bezopasnosti KNR [Regulatory and technological support of information security of the People's Republic of China] – Obrazovanie i pravo [Education and law]. 2019. № 7. P. 24-30. (In Russ.)

14. Markov A.S., Romashkina N.P. Problema vyjavlenija istochnika (atribucii) kiberatak – faktor mezhdunarodnoj bezopasnosti [The problem of identifying the source (attribution) of cyber-attacks is a factor of international security]. – Mirovaja jekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [World economy and international relations]. 2022. Vol. 66. № 12. P. 58-68. DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2022-66-12-58-68. (In Russ.)

15. Merz F. L’attribution publique d’incidents cybernétiques. – Politique de securité. 2019. № 244. P.1-4. DOI: 10.3929/ethz-b-000340840.

16. Nicholas T. Cyber-attacks, self-defense and the problem of attribution. – Journal of conflict and security law. 2012. Vol. 17. № 2. Р. 229-244.

17. O’Connell M. Cyber security without cyber war. – Journal of conflict and security law. 2012. № 17 (2). Р. 187-209.

18. Schmitt M.N. Tallin Manual 2.0. On the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Publ. Cambridge University Press. 2017. P. 1-30. DOI: 10.1017/9781316822524.

19. Shinkareckaja G.G. Mezhdunarodnoe pravo i vojna v kiberprostranstve [International law and the war in cyberspace]. – Sovremennoe parvo [Modern law]. 2013. № 8. P. 120-126. (In Russ.)

20. Yanikeeva I.O. Perspektivnye napravleniya razvitiya i uglubleniya mezhdunarodnogo vzaimodejstviya po problematike mezhdunarodnoj informacionnoj bezopasnosti. [Promising directions for the development and deepening of international cooperation on the issues of international information security]. – Mirovaya politika [World politics]. 2022. № 1. P. 23-34. DOI: 10.25136/2409-8671.2022.1.37532. (In Russ.)