Tech, Law & Security Program’s Symposium on Cyber and International Law a Success
AUWCL Hosts Cyber Security and International Law Experts to Discuss the Impact of Cyber Warfare in Ukraine
Last week, as the war in Ukraine raged on and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United Nations and the White House, American University Washington College of Law’s Tech, Law & Security program (TLS) hosted dozens of cyber security experts to discuss the Ukrainian War’s impact on international cyber law.
During the Second Annual Symposium on Cyber & International Law, held over the course of three days, industry experts, government officials, and members of the military weighed in on the developments in international law and the cyber operation aspect of the Ukraine War, what constitutes a cyber-attack, the impact cyber-attacks have on human rights, what future cyber wars may look like, and more.
Gary Corn, the director of the Tech, Law & Security program, said the symposium showed how rapidly international law is being impacted by the war in Ukraine. “We’re seeing, in a concrete way, things that were only theorized about a few years ago,” he said.
Since before Russia invaded, large-scale cyber-attacks have been used as a disrupting force by Russia against Ukraine. Working in tandem, the Security Service of Ukraine and specialized divisions at tech companies like Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks have successfully repelled attacks and stopped severe damage to critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
Corn said the international law surrounding the use of cyber-attacks in war is murky, noting that only a decade ago some nations posited that international law doesn’t apply to cyber warfare at all. The thinking around cyber warfare has changed just as rapidly as the technology itself.
“The prosecutor for the international criminal court recently announced that he will consider investigations of cyber war crimes,” Corn said. “So, these are new developments in international law that are coming out of the actual use of cyber capabilities in the prosecution of this conflict.”
Closing speaker and former United States National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, as well as numerous other panelists, stressed the importance of staying ahead of the shifting landscape of cyber law and the need for a new generation of international law experts to help shape the future of the field. Corn says TLS events like this symposium are designed to foster an interest in students who will do just that.
“If that’s what you’re interested in and you want to stay two steps ahead of the law, then a place like the technology, law and security program is where you will begin to learn the foundations of that and where things seem to be headed,” Corn said.
Corn stressed that the TLS program doesn’t only concern itself with the cyber war being fought in Ukraine, far from it. It is just a piece of the puzzle that he wants the program and its students to focus on.
“All of these different new technologies raise new issues as to how we want to regulate ourselves as societies and how existing legal frameworks are either adaptable to these new technologies or inadequate," Corn explained. "They need to be updated or adapted to account for the risks, benefits, etc. that new technologies bring.”
~ Story and Video by Brice Helms. ~