International legal characterization of methods and means of warfare in the information space

INTRODUCTION. In the world, due to the growing trends in the militarization of the information space, military actions in this area are becoming a reality and a prospect for a number of operational, tactical and other advantages in comparison with military actions in traditional forms within the classical theaters of war. Information military confrontation will be carried out through the use of a new type of weapon – information, which does not fit into the established paradigm of approaches to traditional weapons, which, of course, gives rise to many questions and contradictory expert opinions, but is in dire need of further development and comprehensive research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. Given the complexity and multi-component nature of the topic under study, the study is based on the results of the analysis of scientific works by Russian and foreign legal scholars on international humanitarian law (IHL), experts in the field of military affairs, and specialists in the field of information technology. The author also examines key international treaties on IHL, on the topic of international information security (IIS), which together form the basis for the international legal qualification of information weapons as a means of waging war in the context of the gradual adaptation of IHL norms to situations of hostile use of information space. In conducting the study, analytical and review materials of the ICRC on the issue of cyber operations during an armed conflict were used. The methodological basis is made up of general scientific and special research methods.

RESEARCH RESULTS. The results of the conducted study established two formed concepts reflecting approaches to IIS and threats in this area through the prism of cybertopics and information aspect, within the framework of each of which specific terminology is formed, including approaches to defining methods and means of conducting military operations. It was determined that the domestic doctrine is built around the information agenda of security, which determined the development of the definition of “information weapons” and the study of its status as a promising means of waging war in the information space. It seems significant to identify and generalize doctrinal trends in the qualification of information weapons as weapons of mass destruction or conventional weapons, as well as to establish new approaches to regulating the development and use of information weapons in armed conflicts.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The article presents the author’s objective assessments of the existing doctrinal approaches of both domestic and foreign scientists on the issue of international legal qualification of methods and means of waging war in the information space in general and information weapons as a means of waging war in particular. Separately, international treaties on IHL and IIS are considered in terms of the possibility of applying their provisions to regulate the restriction of the behavior of warring parties in information warfare, taking into account a certain adaptation of IHL norms to the conditions of hostile use of information technologies. Prospects for further development of the IHL doctrine on regulating the development and use of information weapons in armed conflicts are identified.

1. Arquilla J. Bitskrieg: The New Challenge of Cyberwarfare. London: Polity Press. 2021. 206 р.

2. Blishchenko I.P. Obychnoye oruzhiye i mezhdunarodnoye pravo [Conventional weapons and international law]. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnyye otnosheniya. 1984. 216 р. (In Russ.)

3. Boulanin V., Verbruggen M. Article 36 Reviews: Dealing with the Challenges posed by Emerging Technologies. SIPRI. 2017. 51 р.

4. Carr J. The misunderstood acronym: Why cyber weapons aren’t WMD. – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 2013. № 69(5). Р. 32-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0096340213501373.

5. Clarke R., Knake R. Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What To Do About It. Ecco, HarperCollins Publishers. 2011. 290 р.

6. Daust I., Kuplend R., Iskhoy R. Novyye voyny – novoye oruzhiye? Obyazannost' gosudarstv otsenivat' zakonnost' sredstv i metodov vedeniya voyny [New Wars – New Weapons? The Duty of States to Assess the Legitimacy of Means and Methods of Warfare]. – Mezhdunarodnyy zhurnal Krasnogo Kresta [The International Journal of the Red Cross]. 2002. No. 845-847. Р. 99-120. (In Russ.)

7. Dogel’ M. Yuridicheskoye polozheniye lichnosti vo vremya sukhoputnoy voyny. Kombatanty. [Legal status of the individual during a land war. Combatants]. Kazan’: tipo-lit. Imp. un-ta. 1894. 368 р. (In Russ.)

8. Dylevskij I.N., Zapivahin V.O., Komov S.A., Korotkov S.V., Petrunin A.N. Mezhdunarodnyj rezhim nerasprostranenija informacionnogo oruzhija: utopija ili real'nost'? [The international regime for the non-proliferation of information weapons: utopia or reality?]. – Voennaja mysl' [Military thought]. 2014. № 10. S. 3-12. (In Russ.)

9. Franklin A. An international cyber warfare treaty: Historical analogies and future prospects. – Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare. 2018. № 7 (1). Р. 149-164.

10. Garkusha-Bozhko S. Yu. Mezhdunarodnoye gumanitarnoye pravo v kiberprostranstve: ratione materiae, ratione temporis i problema kvalifikatsii kiberatak [International humanitarian law in cyberspace: ratione materiae, ratione temporis and the problem of qualifying cyberattacks]. – Tsifrovoye pravo [Digital law]. 2021.Vol. 2. No. 1. Р. 64-82. DOI: 10.38044/2686-9136-2021-2-1-64-82. (In Russ.)

11. Hatch B.B. Defining a Class of Cyber Weapons as WMD: An Examination of the Merits. – Journal of Strategic Security. 2018. Vol. 11. No. 1. Р. 43-61.

12. Ivanenko V. The origins, causes and enduring significance of the Martens Clause. – International Review of the Red Cross. 2022. № 104 (920-921). Р. 1708-1724. DOI:10.1017/S1816383122000273.

13. Jadernoe oruzhie i mezhdunarodnaja bezopasnost' v XXI veke [Nuclear weapons and international security in the 21st century]. Materialy mezhdunarodnoj konferencii. Gl. red. I.S. Ivanov. Moskva: Speckniga. 2013. S. 57.

14. Kapustin A.Ya. K voprosu o mezhdunarodno-pravovoy kontseptsii ugroz mezhdunarodnoy informatsionnoy bezopasnosti [On the issue of the international legal concept of threats to international information security]. – Zhurnal zarubezhnogo zakonodatel'stva i sravnitel'nogo pravovedeniya [Journal of Foreign Legislation and Comparative Law]. 2017. No. 6. Р. 44-51. DOI: 10.12737/article_5a1e71d7026536.36788152. (In Russ.)

15. Konokhov M.V. Sredstva i metody vedeniya voiny v informatsionnom prostranstve: mezhdunarodno-pravovyye aspekty [Means and methods of warfare in the information space: international legal aspects]. – Law and state: theory and practice [Law and the State: theory and practice]. 2023. No. 11 (227). P. 218-222. DOI: 10.47643/1815-1337_2023_11_21. (In Russ.).

16. Kotlyarov I.I. Mezhdunarodnoye gumanitarnoye pravo o zapreshchennykh sredstvakh vedeniya voyny [International humanitarian law on prohibited means of warfare]. – Moskovskiy zhurnal mezhdunarodnogo prava [Moscow Journal of International Law]. 2011. No. 1 (81). P. 31-48. (In Russ.).

17. Kotlyarov I.I. Mezhdunarodnoye gumanitarnoye pravo ob ogranichenii voyuyushchikh v vybore metodov vedeniya voyny [International humanitarian law on the limitation of belligerents in the choice of methods of waging war]. – Moskovskiy zhurnal mezhdunarodnogo prava [Moscow Journal of International Law]. 2009. No. 2 (74). P. 44-62. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.24833/0869-0049-2009-2-44-62.

18. Кrepinevich А. Сyber warfare: a “nuclear option”? Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. 2012. 96 р.

19. Kudláčková I. Kybernetická zbraň: Přístupy k její definici. – Revue pro právo a technologie. 2020. Vol. 11. No. 21. Р. 47- 71.

20. Kumar D. Cyber Weapons – The New Weapons of Mass Destruction? – Journal of the United Service Institution of India. 2013. Vol. CXLII, No. 591.

21. Lee N. Cyber Warfare: Weapon of Mass Disruption. – Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity. Switzerland: Springer, Cham. 2024. Р. 243-294.

22. Makarenko S.I. Informacionnoe oruzhie v tehnicheskoj sfere: terminologija, klassifikacija, primery [Information weapons in the technical field: terminology, classification, examples]. – Sistemy upravlenija, svjazi i bezopasnosti [Control, communication and security systems]. 2016. № 3. S. 292.

23. Melkov G.M. Mezhdunarodnoye pravo v period vooruzhennykh konfliktov [International law during armed conflicts]. Moscow: VYUZI. 1988. 94 р. (In Russ.).

24. Mezhdunarodnoye gumanitarnoye pravo i kiberoperatsii vo vremya vooruzhennykh konfliktov. Izlozheniye pozitsii MKKK. Perevod s angliyskogo s prilozheniyem original'nogo teksta. [International Humanitarian Law and Cyber Operations in Armed Conflict]. ICRC Position Statement. Translation from English with appendix of the original text. ICRC. 2020. 32 р. (In Russ.).

25. Oppengejm L. Mezhdunarodnoe pravo [International law]. T. II. p/t I. Moscow. 1949. (In Russ.).

26. Pool P. War of the cyber world: The law of cyber warfare. – The International Lawyer. 2013. № 47(2). Р. 299-323.

27. Puzyreva Ju.V., Nefedov B.I., Jeriashvili N.D. 2024. Rol' Rossijskoj Federacii v formirovanii pravovyh osnov sovremennoj sistemy mezhdunarodnoj informacionnoj bezopasnosti [The role of the Russian Federation in the formation of the legal foundations of the modern system of international information security]. – Pravo i upravlenie [Law and management]. № 4. S. 38-45. (In Russ.).

28. Rattray G.J. Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace. London: MIT Press. 2001. 517 р.

29. Reinhold T., Pleil H., Reuter C. Challenges for Cyber Arms Control: A Qualitative Expert Interview Study. – Z Außen Sicherheitspolit. 2023. № 16. Р. 289–310.

30. Ruhmann I. Neue Ansätze für die Rüstungskontrolle bei Cyber-Konflikten. Ed. by D. Cunningham, P. Hofstedt, K. Meer, I. Schmitt. – INFORMATIK 2015 lecture notes in informatics (LNI). Bonn, Gesellschaft für Informatik. 2015. Р. 571-585.

31. Sazonova K.L. Sovremennyy mezhdunarodno-pravovoy status oruzhiya massovogo unichtozheniya (OMU) i voprosy mezhdunarodnoy otvetstvennosti gosudarstv za yego primeneniye [Current international legal status of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and issues of international responsibility of states for their use]. – Natsional'naya bezopasnost' / Nota Bene [National Security / Nota Bene]. 2018. No. 6 (59). P. 52-65. DOI: 10.7256/2454-0668.2018.6.28480. (In Russ.).

32. Sebekin S. Vozmozhen li rezhim kontrolja za rasprostraneniem kibervooruzhenij? Podhody Rossii i SShA [Is it possible to control the proliferation of cyber weapons? Approaches of Russia and the USA]. – Puti k miru i bezopasnosti [Ways to peace and security]. 2021. S. 139-152. (In Russ.).

33. Sharp W.G. Cyberspace and the Use of Force. NY. 1999. 234 р.

34. Shehovcov N.P., Kuleshov Ju.E. Informacionnoe oruzhie: teorija i praktika primenenija v informacionnom protivoborstve [Information weapons: theory and practice of application in information warfare]. – Vestnik Akademii voennyh nauk [Bulletin of the Academy of Military Sciences]. 2012. № 1 (38). S. 35-40. (In Russ.).

35. Shinkaretskaya G.G. Mezhdunarodnoye pravo i voyna v kiberprostranstve [International law and war in cyberspace]. – Sovremennoye pravo [Modern law]. 2013. No. 8. P. 120-126. (In Russ.).

36. Sinyakin I.I. Terrorizm s ispol'zovaniyem oruzhiya massovogo unichtozheniya: mezhdunarodno-pravovyye voprosy protivodeystviya [Terrorism with the use of weapons of mass destruction: international legal issues of counteraction]. Monografiya. Moscow: Norma. 2012. 191 p. (In Russ.).

37. Strel'tsov A.A. Osnovnyye napravleniya razvitiya mezhdunarodnogo prava vooruzhennykh konfliktov primenitel'no k kiberprostranstvu [Main directions of development of international law of armed conflicts as applied to cyberspace]. – Pravo i gosudarstvo: teoriya i praktika [Law and the State: theory and practice]. 2014. No. 3 (111). P. 75-78. (In Russ.).

38. Talimonchik V.P. Mezhdunarodno-pravovye sredstva bor'by s informacionnym oruzhiem [International legal means of combating information weapons]. – Rossijskij ezhegodnik mezhdunarodnogo prava [Russian Yearbook of International Law]. 2016. № S. S. 135-151. (In Russ.).

39. Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2017. 638 р.

40. The Future of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Their Nature and Role in 2030. Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction. National Defense University. Washington National Defense University Press. 2014. 75 р.

41. Verhelst A., Filling W.J. Global Governance Gaps in Cybersecurity: International and European Legal Perspectives. – International Organisations Research Journal. 2020. Vol. 15. № 2. Р. 141-172.