Challenges of Applying the Principles of Armed Conflict to Cyber Attacks Case Study: Observance of the Principle of Prohibition of the Use of Force and the Principle of Distinction in Cyber Attacks

Due to the many advantages of cyber attacks as a new method of warfare compared to the conventional and traditional methods of war, the attention of different countries has been drawn to this phenomenon over the recent years. Furthermore, noting the point that the efforts of some countries and international assemblies to systematize the tools, methods and effects of this style of attack and conflict still face a lack of consensus and, as a consequence, have not resulted in creation of an international document, the international lawyers have faced many challenges in dealing with this phenomenon and its destructive effects on the important and vital infrastructure of countries and defending the rights of nations against cyber attacks.There are now many legal rules governing the situations in which states can resort to force as well as the point as how they can resort to force in armed conflicts. Some of these rules do not apply specifically to cyber attacks including the rules related to the protection of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked. Other rules include general principles that apply to cyberattacks. Nevertheless, it seems that the gap between conventional weapons such as biological and chemical weapons and methods of cyber-attack can be very large. This article addresses the Principle of Prohibition of the Use of Force and the Principle of Distinction and examines the challenges of applying the same to the cyber attacks.