This is a special episode of Tech Mirror on the imperative to protect civilians from digital threats during war. Johanna is in conversation with Dr. Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer and Head of the legal division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Dr. Tilman Rodenhäuser, Thematic Legal Adviser at the ICRC.

The trio discuss the work of a high-level ICRC Advisory Board, which was convened by the ICRC to develop concrete recommendations on the legal and policy challenges to protect civilians from digital threats during armed conflict. The trio also discuss the influential blog post, co-authored by Rodenhäuser, on the rules for ‘civilian hackers’ during war - and the fascinating responses the post generated from hacktivist groups and states.  

Relevant Links:

• Final report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 'Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict 2023' https://www.icrc.org/en/document/global-advisory-board-digital-threats

•  The Geneva Conventions and their commentaries via the ICRC https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions 

• 8 rules for “civilian hackers” during war, and 4 obligations for states to restrain them, by Tilman Rodenhäuser and Mauro Vignati, via the Humanitarian Law & Policy, hosted by the ICRC https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/10/04/8-rules-civilian-hackers-war-4-obligations-states-restrain-them/

• ‘Governments and hackers agree: the laws of war must apply in cyberspace’, by Johanna Weaver, via The Conversation https://theconversation.com/governments-and-hackers-agree-the-laws-of-war-must-apply-in-cyberspace-216202 

• ‘Frankissstein’, by Jeanette Winterson (2019) https://www.penguin.com.au/books/frankissstein-9781784709952

• ‘Machines Like Me’, by Ian McEwan (2019) https://www.penguin.com.au/books/machines-like-me-9781473568020 

• ‘Offensive Cyber Operations: Understanding Intangible Warfare’, by Daniel Moore (2022) https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/offensive-cyber-operations/

• Cyber Law Toolkit https://cyberlaw.ccdcoe.org/wiki/Main_Page