The Oxford Process is a group of international legal experts that aim to apply international law protections in cyberspace and respond to the most critical issues in the international community through multi-stakeholder engagement. The group’s work, “The Oxford Process on International Law Protections in Cyberspace: A Compendium,” is a comprehensive guide to provide policymakers, researchers, and practitioners with practical insights and innovative solutions to apply international law protections to elections, the healthcare sector, IT supply chains, information operations, and ransomware operations. The work recognizes that the rise and proliferation of harmful cyber operations have resulted in several consequences, most notably attacking the trust in institutions, cybersecurity protocols, and electoral processes, while simultaneously inflicting direct harm such as injury, damage, disruption, and psychological distress in the aftermath of cyber operations. Amidst the increasing sophistication of cyber operations, public and private actors must apply their resources together and build more robust cybersecurity. Further, the need for legal certainty is pressing, and the demand for clearly stated rules of international law has increased due to the dramatic rise of cyber threats. The Compendium has sought to respond to this growing need and provide clarify on how international law governs and prohibits a range of cyber threats.
Author:
Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict
