International Responsibility of States For Cyber Attacks of Non-State Actors

Due to the widespread dependence of all human affairs on cyberspace and the Internet, the risk of cyber attacks threatens international peace and security more than ever‏.‏ From time to time, some news is spread in the media and social networks that a cyber attack has been carried out against a state. Still, due to the complexities of cyberspace, it is difficult to determine the perpetrator of the cyber attack‏.‏ What can act as a strong barrier against the state’s violations of the rules and principles of international law is the rules of the international responsibility of the states‏‏.‏ Currently, there are two standards of responsibility for states against cyber attacks of Non-State Actors, one of which is the standard of effective control, and the other is the standard of general control‏.‏ In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of these two standards for determining the international responsibility of states for cyber attacks by Non-State Actors are discussed. It is concluded that due to the special characteristics of cyber technologies‏, these two standards are not appropriate to prove the responsibility of states for Non-state actors’ cyber attacks. The standard of due diligence must be considered by states because, based on the characteristics of this standard, it seems easier to prove the international responsibility of states against cyber attacks by Non-state Actors.