Waging Wars in Cyberspace: International Law and the Stuxnet Operation

Willa Rubin, Oberlin CollegeFollow

Location

King Building 339

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-29-2016 2:45 PM

End Date

4-29-2016 3:45 PM

Abstract

My project examines the following question: Could Iran retaliate against the U.S. for initiating the Stuxnet cyber operation on Iran’s nuclear facility at Natanz? I find that due to Stuxnet’s technical capabilities, it would likely be considered an act of aggression in international law. However, if the culprit and target states—if they were states at all—could not be determined, the response to my question would be much less clear. I draw my analysis from ICJ cases, the UN Charter, and other foundational documents; technical analyses of the Stuxnet operation; and other historical and political books and articles.

Notes

Session II, Panel 10 - Border Crossings: Case Studies From Palestine, Kenya, and Iran
Moderator: RaShelle Peck, Faculty-in-Residence, Africana Studies

Full text thesis available here.

Major

Politics

Advisor(s)

Ben Schiff, Politics

Project Mentor(s)

Ben Schiff, Politics

April 2016

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Apr 29th, 2:45 PM Apr 29th, 3:45 PM

Waging Wars in Cyberspace: International Law and the Stuxnet Operation

King Building 339

My project examines the following question: Could Iran retaliate against the U.S. for initiating the Stuxnet cyber operation on Iran’s nuclear facility at Natanz? I find that due to Stuxnet’s technical capabilities, it would likely be considered an act of aggression in international law. However, if the culprit and target states—if they were states at all—could not be determined, the response to my question would be much less clear. I draw my analysis from ICJ cases, the UN Charter, and other foundational documents; technical analyses of the Stuxnet operation; and other historical and political books and articles.