Global

Article

Self-Defensive Force Against Cyber Attacks: Legal, Strategic and Political Dimensions

Author: Matthew C. Waxman
International Law Studies

When does a cyber-attack (or threat of cyber-attack) give rise to a right of self-defense – including armed self-defense – and when should it? This essay examines these questions through three lenses: (1) a legal perspective, to examine the range of reasonable interpretations of self-defense rights as applied to cyber-attacks, and the relative merits of interpretations within that range; (2) a strategic perspective, to link a purported right of armed self-defense to long-term policy interests including security and stability; and (3) a political perspective, to consider the situational context in which government decision-makers will face these issues and predictive judgments about the reactions to cyber-crises of influential actors in the international system.

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Ask CFR Experts

What is the most urgent global environmental issue and how should it be addressed?

Asked by Matthew Woltmann, from American Military University, California
Author: Daniel P. Ahn

Determining the "most urgent" global environmental issue is somewhat subjective; many would argue that carbon emissions and climate change is the most pressing issue. Others are just as passionate about deforestation, water scarcity, groundwater contamination, loss of biodiversity, landfills, ocean acidification, air quality… the list goes on.

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Audio

Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet

Speakers: John D. Negroponte, Samuel J. Palmisano, and Adam Segal
Introductory Speaker: Anya Schmemann
Presider: Thomas Gjelten

The CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, finds that as more people and services become interconnected and dependent on the Internet, societies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

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Testimony

Grading States For Not Degrading People: Human Trafficking Assessments

Author: Mark P. Lagon

Ambassador Mark P. Lagon's testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations discussed the rankings of individual states in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report released by the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP office). Ambassador Lagon called on the advice of experts in the TIP office to be heeded and the report be reflective of the situation on the ground rather than be politically expedient.

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Podcast

The World Next Week: June 6, 2013

A preview of world events in the coming week from CFR.org: U.S. president Barack Obama hosts Chinese president Xi Jinping in California and Peru's president Ollanta Humala in Washington; and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testifies before the House budget committee.

See more in Global; Politics and Strategy

Transcript

Defending an Open, Global, Secure and Resilient Internet

Speakers: John D. Negroponte, Samuel J. Palmisano, and Adam Segal
Introductory Speaker: Anya Schmemann

The CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, finds that as more people and services become interconnected and dependent on the Internet, societies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

See more in Global; Cybersecurity

Task Force Report No. 70

Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet

The CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, finds that as more people and services become interconnected and dependent on the Internet, societies are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. To support security, innovation, growth, and the free flow of information, the Task Force recommends that the United States and its partners work to build a cyber alliance, make the free flow of information a part of all future trade agreements, and articulate an inclusive and robust vision of Internet governance.

See more in Global; Cybersecurity; Internet Policy