Duqu's Dilemma: The Ambiguity Assertion and the Futility of Sanitized Cyberwar

The debate over the applicability or non-applicability of international law to cyberwar and the need for a cyber-speci c international treaty might be irrelevant. Both camps, pro and con, argue about the need for cyberwar to have the Law of Armed Con ict (LOAC) or some new international legislation properly cover the cyber domain. Both camps, however, misread how the structure of the cyber domain precludes strategically “piggybacking” on conventional norms of war. International laws on conventional war are effective because of the ability to differentiate between civilian and military sectors. There is a civilian/military ambiguity in the cyber domain that makes such differentiation unlikely if not impossible well into the future.