Knowledge Tree
Tallinn Manual
Facts (12)
Sources
Rethinking Espionage in the Modern Era cjil.uchicago.edu 12 facts
claimThe Tallinn Manual does not address cyber espionage because the international law governing the use of force and armed conflict plays little or no role in regulating such activities.
claimThe definition of cyber espionage in the Tallinn Manual is intended to consider the alignment of traditional war conventions with cyber espionage during times of armed conflict, rather than peace-time espionage.
claimThe Tallinn Manual argues that armed attack analysis should abide by strict liability, asserting that the intention is irrelevant in qualifying an operation as an armed attack and that only the scale and effects matter.
claimThe Tallinn Manual does not provide a clear analysis on the topic of cyber espionage because the group believed there is an absence of a direct prohibition in international law on espionage per se.
claimThe Tallinn Manual classifies non-violent operations, such as psychological cyber operations or cyber espionage, as activities that do not qualify as attacks.
referenceThe Tallinn Manual focuses on the effect of a tool when determining its classification in the context of cyber operations.
referenceThe original purpose of the Tallinn Manual was to provide a non-binding instructional manual applying existing laws to cyberwarfare.
referenceThe Tallinn Manual characterizes the difference between defensive cyber tools and offensive cyberweapons based on the effect of the tool.
quoteThe Tallinn Manual defines cyber espionage as “any act undertaken clandestinely or under false pretenses that uses cyber capabilities to gather (or attempt to gather) information with the intention of communicating it to the opposing party.”
claimThe Tallinn Manual represents the collective views of a group of international experts gathered by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).
claimThe Tallinn Manual finds that actions enabling cyber espionage may in themselves rise to the level of a use of force.
claimThe Tallinn Manual states that cyber information gathering performed from outside the territory controlled by an adverse party is not considered cyber espionage, though it may be punishable under the domestic criminal law of the affected State or the neutral State from which the activity originated.