Definition assumptions --- The problematic aspect of the definition of cybwewar is that it assumes that a state attacks another state. This could seem obvious, but we quickly face the problem of how to attribute responsibility for the attacks. How could one state declare war on another? How can it prove that it was attacked? It all gets political and complicated. Just imagine: one state accuses another, the alleged attacker denies it, and demands the accuser to show prove, then, what would be acceptable proof for the accuser’s claim to be recognized by the international community? The accuser would get their partners’ support, and they might all act together against the attacker, but then the response would be only an issue concerning the accuser and its partners. Maybe there is no such thing as “cyberwar” but interstate conflict moving to the cyber terrain.

Source author: Juan Feliciano Ascencio Moctezuma jascencio@sre.gob.mx