'The Art of Cyber War': NATO creates the first book on cyber warfare

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The Art of War was written by the Chinese in the second century B.C. to compile the military strategies that govern wars. In the modern times, however, some of these rules have gone obsolete as military attacks become digital. The massive cyberattacks launched by computer servers in China to various large organizations in the US—including the White House, Chamber of Commerce, and international private companies—have inspired the creation of the first book on cyber war, The Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare.




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Sunday Morning Herald reports that the 282-page handbook is the brainchild of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). It contains rules on cyber warfare and discusses “the practice of international law to the world of electronic warfare in an effort to show how hospitals, civilians, and neutral nations can be protected in an information-age fight.” The book's main idea is that “war doesn't stop being war just because it happens online.” A cyberattack launched by one nation against another nation is still considered an attack in traditional warfare. And just as hostile armies are not allowed to fight in neutral country's territory, so is launching an attack from a neutral country's computer network prohibited.




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The traditional law allows nations to strike if they see enemies on the borders, but how can this be dealt with in the virtual realm where hacks happen in just a matter of seconds? The traditional law also prohibits armies to attack civilian objects, but what if a military cyberattack erases civilian's data, like voter registration records? These are some issues in the book that leave readers room for open discussions.


Marco Roscini, a professor of international law, predicts that the Tallinn manual will become an important reference especially to military lawyers. NATO CCDCOE, however, says that the handbook is not an official document but an expression of opinions of a group of independent experts.  


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