Information Warfare as International Coercion: Elements of a Legal Framework

"While perhaps not armed force literally, resort to cyberforce may be viewed as a form of intervention that can produce harmful or coercive effects, and put at risk the national security of another state. There is need for modern international law to define more precisely the criteria used to distinguish which state actions are permissible as normal computer-generated transborder data flow from those cyberactivities that might qualify as an -armed attack' against a state. Clearer rules are also needed for what responses are permissible as self-defense by a state targeted in an information warfare situation and how international institutions might facilitate the attainment of these objectives."‌ (Direct Quote)