Legal Status of Hackers under International Humanitarian Law: The Case of Anonymous
15 Pages Posted: 19 Nov 2024
Date Written: November 19, 2024
Abstract
Nowadays, cyber operations characterize war scenarios, posing important challenges to international community. Considering the scarcity and the fragmented character of international law rules designed for cyberspace, it is easily comprehensible how difficult it turns out to apply the proper discipline to concrete actors and situations that develop in that context. The aim of this study is to determine the legal classification of a specific group of cyber actors, specifically a hacker group, under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The focus will be on analysing the legal status of the Anonymous group in the context of the Ukrainian-Russia conflict. In addition to defining combatants under IHL, the initial section of the paper will examine whether Anonymous can be considered as such. Once ruled out this possibility, the paper will investigate whether Anonymous can be categorized as civilians participating in hostilities, based on the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Interpretive Guidance on Direct Participation in Hostilities under IHL and the Tallinn Manual 2.0. Assuming that Anonymous can be classified as such, the second part of the paper will explore the implications of this legal recognition focusing on the risks linked to the loss of protection granted to civilians by International Humanitarian Law.
Keywords: International Humanitarian Law, Anonymous, Legal status of hackers, Tallinn Manual, ICRC Interpretive Guidance on Direct Participation in Hostilities
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