The Legal Limits of Targeting the Cyber Capabilities of a Neutral State

Legal practitioners must rely on current international law and norms to address the legalities of injurious cyber operations conducted by one State against another State.1 Cyber operations can be surprising and debilitating especially if States conduct such operations against U.S. armed forces. With its focus on defensive operations, the U.S. military appears to be less prepared to act offensively. In Cyber War, Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake wrote there is no conventional military force in the world superior to that of the U.S., assuming that the U.S. military is not blinded or disconnected by a cyber attack.