Article

The Stuxnet attack : a new form of warfare and the (in)applicability of current international law

Jordan Peagler

• Arizona journal of international and comparative law, Vol. 31, no. 2, 2014, p. 399–434

English

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This article examines the threats presented by cyber warfare and the applicability of current international law to cyberattacks. The Stuxnet Attack on Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz in 2010 is its central focus. The main question is whether this cyberattack constituted a “use of force” within the meaning of Article 2 of the United Nations (UN) Charter, and thus engaged the retaliatory measures legally available to Iran. While the term “force” is often viewed as necessarily meaning armed violence, this article notes that force has additionally been interpreted to mean coercion and interference. Cyberattacks can be understood as falling within this broader conception of force as inclusive of interference. However, for this inclusion to gain international recognition, the UN will need to modernize its construal of the UN Charter to account for the different technical characteristics and actors involved in cyberattacks. Due to the political difficulty of passing an international treaty to regulate cyber warfare, this article suggests that Iran request an international convention to address the Stuxnet Attack. Such a meeting would serve as a much-needed starting point for negotiations on the inclusion of cyber warfare within existing international laws. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

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