Cyber-Weapons: Legal and Strategic Aspects (Version 2.0)

Abstract

The rapid evolution of scenarios and threats related to the increased use of cyber-space within the national security context, as well as an exponential spread of new and hypothetical "cyber-weapons", as described at times with sensationalist language by the media, warranted a specific analysis of the phenomenon.

The study focuses on an in-depth analysis and examination of the strategic aspects of the "cyber-weapons" and gives for the first time a specific legal definition of a cyber-weapon.

Further analysis is dedicated to analyzing the most important malwares which defined and shaped the cyber security sector in 2012/2013, assigning them a specific legal classification in accordance with the newly-proposed definition of the term.

Keywords: cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, cyberweapon, national security, cyberlaw, law.

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K33, O38.