Securing justice for cyber-enabled international crimes

Harmful cyber operations are growing in pace, scale and impact. Cyber operations targeting critical infrastructure have increased significantly in recent years. The number of cyber actors is also on the rise, with generative AI aiding criminals in carrying out their operations.

Many states now have laws that criminalize cyber activity such as online fraud and hacking. But cyber means can also be used to facilitate or commit the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. There is an urgent need to improve the prospects for prosecution of such crimes when committed or facilitated by cyber means.

A harmful cyber operation may constitute both a cybercrime and a cyber-enabled international crime – for example, a war crime facilitated by cyber means may include illegal hacking. Attempts to hold those responsible for cyber-enabled international crimes accountable are likely to use some of the routes, tactics and actors involved in prosecuting cybercrime. At the same time, prosecutions for the distinct wrong of cyber-enabled international crimes also require reliance on the apparatus of international criminal justice.

Read more at Chatham House