최근 국가실행을 통해 비춰본 국제법상 무력 사용으로서 사이버 오퍼레이션

As cyberspace has emerged through technological development and its use has expanded, it has become an attractive means or a target for taking military advantage. As the technological environment changed, countries were concerned about how jus ad bellum, which governs the use of armed force by states, could be applied to cyberspace. There are three approaches to applying the concept of use of force to cyber operations, but they are not all completely satisfactory. First, the instrument-based approach, according to which the nature of the means used determines whether the prohibition in the Article 2(4) of the UN Charter applies, is difficult to apply to cyber operations. Second, the target-based approach has a limitation in that it focuses too much on the nature of the target of cyber operations without considering how serious the effects of cyber operations. Third, the effect-based approach represents a limitation in that it can obscure the traditional distinction between armed coercion (armed force) and non-armed coercion, accordingly blurring normative distinction between the prohibition of the use of force and the prohibition of non-intervention. This approach, which considers only the physical effects of cyber operation, overlooked the fact that cyber operations can threaten the safety of a country without causing a physical effect. Despite the limitations of each approach, it is hard to deny that the effect-based approach is the most supportive approach among international law scholars. In addition, recently this approach has been expanded around Western countries. Against this background, this study examines the approach of applying the concept of use of force in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter on cyber operations, and assess these approaches in light of the recent state practices in that regard.