War Has Rules (yes, even in cyberspace)

Dec 11 2023 • 58 mins

This is a special episode of Tech Mirror on the imperative to protect civilians from digital threats during war. Johanna is in conversation with Dr. Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer and Head of the legal division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Dr. Tilman Rodenhäuser, Thematic Legal Adviser at the ICRC.

The trio discuss the work of a high-level ICRC Advisory Board, which was convened by the ICRC to develop concrete recommendations on the legal and policy challenges to protect civilians from digital threats during armed conflict. The trio also discuss the influential blog post, co-authored by Rodenhäuser, on the rules for ‘civilian hackers’ during war - and the fascinating responses the post generated from hacktivist groups and states.

Relevant Links:

Final report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 'Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict 2023' https://www.icrc.org/en/document/global-advisory-board-digital-threats

The Geneva Conventions and their commentaries via the ICRC https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions

8 rules for “civilian hackers” during war, and 4 obligations for states to restrain them, by Tilman Rodenhäuser and Mauro Vignati, via the Humanitarian Law & Policy, hosted by the ICRC https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/10/04/8-rules-civilian-hackers-war-4-obligations-states-restrain-them/