Regulating States Cyber-Behaviour

obstacles for a consensus

Resumo

What are the leading obstacles to reaching a consensus on international norms that regulate state-sponsored cyber-offences? This type of operation increases swiftly, whilst issues related to international law go unnoticed, are poorly understood, or are manipulated, clouding the debate on norms of international conduct in cyberspace. This article analyses the main obstacles to regulating such cyber-offences. It argues that the main difficulties concern statecraft and state power promotion, not novelty or innovation speed, ideological or technological issues, as usually claimed. The analysis encompasses the applicability of the
current rules of armed conflicts to the cyberspace context, the perspectives and positions regarding multilateral conventions, the option  for bilateral or regional agreements and the normalisation of some cyber-activities as means of influencing consuetudinary law. It is shown that some nations advocate for maintaining the status quo that favours them, whilst others
insist on the need for specific regulations.