ABSTRACT
The idea of ethics as pertaining to conflict in the newly recognized cyber domain is becoming increasingly recognized as an important sub-field of military ethics. Significant topics include background policy considerations regarding the conditions under which a cyber attack might be morally justified; the respective responsibilities of military and civilian personnel for the development and control of cyber strategy and tactics (including formulation of targeting decisions that would respect the moral and legal principles of non-combatant discrimination, proportionality, and military necessity); design and procurement of appropriate cyber weapons; and increasingly, questions about the appropriate professional conduct (and constraints on the conduct) of “cyber warriors.” This chapter focuses largely upon these ethical (as distinct from the legal) challenges that cyber conflict and the need for cyber security present.
