The zeitgeist of the 21st century irrefutably is entwined with the advancement of cyberspace. Sovereign states and individuals are colossally contingent upon communication and information technology to execute their miscellaneous activities. This reliance is increasingly visible in our day-to-day travails. This global digital base structure renders elephantine advantages to states and societies, nevertheless, it is also susceptible to a horde of perils. This sensitive nature of cyberspace and technology mandates a pressing urgency for states to assure cybersecurity to safeguard themselves and individuals from the malevolent cyberthreats which are ubiquitous and pervasive in today’s encyclopedic world. Cybersecurity is an intricate and multifaceted discipline, and it has taken precedence in International Relations in the past few decennaries because of its potency to inflict political, economic, social, moral, and psychological predicaments to the globe. The global security and peace are in danger due to malicious ramifications of cybercrime and attacks. This expeditious development of cyberthreats poses a severe strain on the international community to establish a robust legal substructure to regulate state behavior in cyberspace.
The mid of the 1990’s was marked by an earnest cognizance about the necessity for cooperation by the international community as the world started to become more digitalized and the perils related to cyber activities were augmenting and becoming obvious. The upsurge of the internet and the increased interconnectedness along with interdependence of the world in the cyber domain demanded concerted international efforts to address the cyber threats such as hacking incidents and other spiteful activities which were exacerbating at that time. As the cyber domain became incorporated into the sensitive structures of the country’s national security and military systems, it became mandatory for the countries to secure and stabilize themselves from malevolent cyberthreats as strain in one part could have a cascading effect over the others.
The existing structure and paradigm of international law doesn’t adequately address the predicaments put forward by cyberspace. It encounters myriad limitations which range from attribution problems to varying national interests. The first and foremost problem is the normative gap which is evident in the existing law structure of the Budapest Convention which particularly deals with cybercrimes instead of providing robust instructions about cybersecurity. The mechanism concerned with the identification of the true perpetrator of a cyber-attack is onerous as jillions of clandestine cyber-crimes are undertake by proxies or surrogates. The break-neck speed of technological advancements exceeds the static nature of international law making it inept to catch up with the emerging technologies and often a step behind the curve to grapple with cyberthreats effectively. In addition, cooperation and outright response to a cyber-incident is usually hindered by the paucity of unanimity on major cyber terminologies and notions such as “cyber-warfare”. The prevalent cyber-frameworks tend to brush aside the predicament of resource-constrained nations which lack the suffice wherewithal to meet head-on with cyber-threats. Moreover, states have varied national ambitions and the ubiquitous character of cyberspace throws cold water on their willingness to trade-off their sovereignty. Thus, existing cyber-structures are scanty and fall short of adequately addressing the dynamism and volatility of cyberspace. These shortcomings accentuate the urgency for establishing a more versatile and coherent system which keep the momentum with breakthroughs in technology, not envisioned by the primary architects of international law.
The already present international accords and structures akin to cybersecurity, nevertheless, render a venue for collaboration but the progressing nature of technology and cyberthreats clip their wings from attending to cyber-related quandaries. This curtailment also brings the gulf in cybersecurity governance at the forefront, soliciting the imperative need of a cohesive and adaptive global legal structure on cybersecurity. The virtual realm in this epoch has witnessed a paradigm shift in cyber threats. The ammunition of cyberattacks is ever-increasing which range from orthodox malware and phishing techniques and extend beyond Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) to cyberespionage. Cyber-attacks are global in nature and therefore demand a global solution by the international community to plausible cope up with the emerging modern cyberthreats. Establishment of a new full-fledge treaty in a jiffy seems utopian but states should engage themselves in collaborative efforts to counter this menace and develop agreement on the problem of establishing a consensus on definitions of cyber terminologies and about the application of existing IHL to cyber warfare. The international community should sit together and build a consensus, enter into multilateral agreements, develop norms, and foster cooperation to provide basis for the establishment of a robust treaty on cybersecurity sooner or later which addresses not only the limitations of the existing structures but also adjusts accordingly to the swift technological progresses.
In conclusion, the voyage towards the establishment of a comprehensive framework on cybersecurity, nevertheless, is pregnant with predicaments but not impossible. The probability of breakthrough is achievable. The road towards a stable, secure, and peaceful cyberspace can be advanced steadily by addressing the shortcomings and flaws in the current system and taking into consideration the diverse perspectives and inclusive approaches, thereby acknowledging the ubiquitous existence and vulnerabilities of cyberspace. The endorsement and adoption of cooperative measures for fostering consensus, collaborative strategies, norm development and suffice resources will certainly provide wherewithal for overcoming the void in cybersecurity governance and securing the future of digital realm once and for all.
