cyber warfare

CYBERWARFARE
by (NAME)
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Tutor
University
City and State
Date

Do you think that a physical military response is justified in response to a cyber-attack?
As enshrined in the United Nations charter, a state has a natural right to defend itself in case of an armed attack. A physical military response will be justified action in case of a cyber-attack. If a cyber-attack leads to serious injuries, or kills a larger number of people or leads to a significant destruction of property, this should be considered as an armed attack, hence a physical military response will be justified, though cyber warfare is a key component for most militaries across the world (Lin, H.S., 2010, 63). One of the examples of cyber-attacks which can justify physical military response is those cyberattacks s which target power to medical centers thus endangering lives.
Are lethal cyber weapons, such as turning off the water supply or electricity, which can fatally affect civilian populations, a legitimate strategy during wartime?
These are not legitimate targets during wartime. This is because according to the Geneva Convention civilian objects should be protected during a war (Lewis, 2002, 55). Article fifty two of Geneva convention states that , “In so far as objects are concerned, military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.

“. Hence launching cyber-attacks during wartime on civilian infrastructures such as water and electricity supply will not be legitimate (Slay, Miller, 2007, 73).
The DSTO identifies increasing digitization, increasing complexity, increasing outsourcing, lagging security posture, and increasing interconnectedness as vulnerabilities in Australia’s ICT infrastructure. Suggest strategies that the government can use to address these vulnerabilities.
The government should implement the application of whitelisting. This is a measure which is technical in nature that authorizes applications to run on the system. This enhances protection against malicious from running on the system.
Another strategy is the implementation of patching systems. This is a strategy designed to update or fix a problem in a system. Applications and computers operating system should be patched (Luiijf, E., Besseling et al. 2013, 22) Also restricting administrative privileges, this will prevent cybercriminals from attacking accounts of individuals who have administrative challenges. They are normally targeted because they can access the system.

References
Lin, H.S., 2010. Offensive cyber operations and the use of force. J. Nat’l Sec. L. & Pol’y, 4, p.63.
Luiijf, E., Besseling, K. and De Graaf, P., 2013. Nineteen national cyber security strategies. International Journal of Critical Infrastructures 6, 9(1-2), pp.3-31.
Slay, J. and Miller, M., 2007, March. Lessons learned from the maroochy water breach. In International Conference on Critical Infrastructure Protection (pp. 73-82). Springer, Boston, MA.
Lewis, J.A., 2002. Assessing the risks of cyber terrorism, cyber war and other cyber threats. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies.