Hackers often violate the rules that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has established and recommends following to ensure the safety of civilians in cyber warfare. Fedor Dbar, commercial director of the Security Code company specializing in the development of information security tools, told socialbites.ca.
The ICRC published eight cyberwarfare rules for hackers on October 4, 2023. These are all aimed at reducing harm to civilians from the actions of cybercriminals. The ICRC specifically calls on hackers not to attack hospitals and energy facilities and not to use the information obtained to intimidate civilians.
Dbar described the ICRC initiative as a noble attempt to restore order in cyberspace, similar in essence to the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Time of War. According to him, hacker and hacktivist associations now often act immorally and do not care about the well-being of ordinary people.
“Violations of the rules recommended by the ICRC occur constantly. “The number of attacks on critical infrastructures has increased 10-15 times in recent years, and you don’t have to look far for examples: a few days ago Russian airports faced massive DDoS attacks, which ultimately caused civilian suffering.” said the expert.
According to him, the ICRC’s rules on hackers need to be finalized and turned into legislation so that these rules can have at least some impact on cybercriminals. Additionally, Dbar believes we need some sort of military police analogue that would monitor hackers and their compliance with proposed standards.
“The Wild West era now reigns among hackers. Of course, there are certain groups under the control of states, but mostly there are different gangs in cyberspace that can unite according to different criteria. And there is no impact on them,” Dbar explained.
The expert emphasized that until the ICRC rules are reflected in the law and a supervisory body is created, it will not have much impact and hackers will continue to attack.
Previously Vadim Galygin supported Russian hackers who “take down bad people.”