Date: April 29, 2009
Contacts: Rebecca Alvania, Media Relations Officer
Alison Burnette, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail <news@nas.edu>
Greater Transparency Needed in Development of
"Cyberattack is too important a subject for the nation to be discussed only behind closed doors," said Adm. William Owens, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former vice chairman and CEO of Nortel Corp., and Kenneth Dam, Max Pam Professor Emeritus of American and Foreign Law at the University of Chicago School of Law, who co-chaired the committee.
Cyberattacks -- actions taken against computer systems or networks -- are often complex to plan and execute but relatively inexpensive, and the technology needed is widely available. Defenses against such attacks are discussed, but questions on the potential for, and the ramifications of, the
The
Employing a cyberattack carries with it some implications that are unlike those associated with traditional physical warfare, the report says. The outcome is likely to be more uncertain, and there may be substantial impact on the private sector, which owns and operates much of the infrastructure through which the
Clear national policy regarding the use of cyberattack should be developed through open debate within the
From a legal perspective, cyberattack should be judged by its effects rather than the method of attack; cyberwarfare should not be judged less harshly than physical warfare simply by virtue of the weapons employed. The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), an international law regulating conduct during war, should apply to cyberattack. However, there are aspects of cyberwarfare that will not fit neatly within this structure. LOAC was designed to regulate conflict between nations, but cyberweapons can easily be used by non-state groups, making issues such as determining appropriate targets for military retaliation difficult to address. Additional legal constructs will be needed to govern cyberattacks, and the framework of LOAC and the U.N. Charter on the use of armed force would be an appropriate starting point, the report says.
This study was sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, Microsoft Corp., and the National Research Council. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering,
Copies of Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above). In addition, a podcast of the public briefing held to release this report is available at http://national-academies.org/podcast.
# # #
[ This news release and report are available at http://national-academies.org ]
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
Committee on Offensive Information Warfare
Kenneth W. Dam (co-chair)
Senior Lecturer and Max Pam Professor Emeritus of American and Foreign Law
William Owens (co-chair)
Chairman and CEO
AEA Holdings, Inc.; and
Thomas A. Berson
President
Anagram Laboratories
Gerhard
David D. Clark1
Senior Research Scientist
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
IBM Fellow Emeritus
Professor
Vice President of Strategic Architecture
Boeing Co.; and
Professor Emeritus
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Senior Consultant
MSB Associates
Director
Partner
Caplin and Drysdale
Vice President and Deputy General Manager for Intelligence and Information Superiority
Northrop Grumman
Michael A. Vatis
Counsel
Steptoe and Johnson, LLP
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Herb Lin
Study Director
2 Member,
3 Member,