Subject: ‘Armed Attack’ in Cyberspace – The Issues and the Dilemma
From: Campus Broadcast <[email-masked]>
To: Campus Broadcast <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 15:40:16 +0000

‘Armed Attack’ in Cyberspace – The Issues and the Dilemma - A Talk by CANZPS Visiting Scholar Clare Sullivan, PhD

Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 12-2 p.m.
McGhee Library, 301 Intercultural Center (ICC)
Georgetown University
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20057

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/9f4655709a061a5f3ffe3924a/images/0839c33f-5d52-4988-9572-71200a3b49cf.jpg]Imagine that Australia, being in an earlier time zone, becomes aware of an imminent cyber threat to disrupt vital services in the US. Can Australia legitimately launch a defensive cyber-attack to protect the US?

The ANZUS treaty, which governs the US/Australia alliance, now includes cyber space. The treaty provides that in the event of an “armed attack in the Pacific Area on any of the Parties that each party “will act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes.” But what constitutes an armed attack in the cyber context and what response is permitted under international law?

The level of force necessary to constitute an armed attack and what constitutes a proportional response can be vexing questions under international law when conventional weapons and methods are used. In a world where cyber-attack can shut down civilian targets like power plants and hospitals, jam transmissions, immobilize vital services, and open flood gates, what constitutes an ‘armed attack’ is a challenging new legal issue.

Lunch will be served, including vegetarian options. Please email [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> if you have any other dietary needs.

Dr. Clare Sullivan is a cyber-lawyer, South Australian Fulbright Scholar 2011, author of Digital Identity and professor at the School of Law, University of South Australia. Dr. Sullivan is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC where she is researching cyber warfare and defense under the ANZUS treaty as an Australian government Endeavour Research Fellow.