On the Use of Offensive Cyber Capabilities - Belfer Center for ...

Additionally, how might the nature of cyberspace adapt or change in response tothe use of a particular cyber action?Considering all three sets of cyber policy considerations is critical toformulating sound cyber policy, and we will discuss each consideration in detailin order to better understand the challenges for external cyber operations.Normative ConsiderationsEthicalIt is not our intention to justify a particular ethical framework by whichwe will gauge the morality of any external cyber activity. Rather it is importantto note that there is a moral dimension to external cyber activity that may not becaptured by simply analyzing the legal implications of said activity. By way of ananalogy, the U.S. decision to categorize “enhanced interrogation techniques” aslegal 37 reflected a certain regard for the need for legal justification. It did not,however, reflect on the moral dimension of these techniques. Put another way,simply because we determine that an action is legal, it does not make it morallyacceptable.In that regard, we believe that there are certain ethical aspects that areparticularly germane here. First is the applicability of contractualist thought, 38regardless of the international characteristic of external cyber operations. It is notnecessary to adhere to a more cosmopolitan view for this belief to hold. At aminimum, however, cyber policy should recognize the potential for unforeseen37 For a synopsis of the relevant documents, see (Torture Memos).38 By “contractualist thought” we are referring to John Rawls’s Theory of Justice. We are wellaware that Rawls did not believe his theory applied internationally, but it is not the completetheory we are advocating either. Rather, we are simply averring that there exists, at a minimum, abasic regard that we extend to human beings that is not particularly captured in consequentialistthought.29