Content area
Teljes szöveg
Abstract: On June 14, 2016, suspicions emerged that Russia launched a cyber attack on the U.S. Democratic National Committee in the midst of an extremely contentious presidential election season. The damage was extensive, occurring over a series of months and resulting in numerous leaks of highly sensitive information regarding Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton. After it was verified that Russia was behind the cyber attack, President Barack Obama relied on general and anachronistic principles of international law to issue a grossly ineffective response. Russia's cyber attack and the U.S. response thus highlighted the ways in which international law fails to guard against and remedy state-sponsored cyber attacks. These attacks will continue to occur at an alarming rate and without adequate recourse unless a new international treaty is implemented. In order to be successful, this treaty would need to garner the support of the major cyber powers and be specifically tailored towards combatting state-sponsored cyber attacks.
Introduction
The 2016 U.S. presidential election was highly contentious from the start.1 Americans were deeply divided over the issues, even within the Republican and Democratic parties.2 A lot was at stake: the next President would have the power to shape the Supreme Court, decide the future of Obamacare, and transform immigration policies.3 Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton appealed to the many voters who were angry and frustrated with the status quo, thereby securing their party's presidential nomination in a bitterly fought primary election.4 Both candidates only grew more extreme in their views and shrouded in controversy as Election Day neared and, in fact, were deemed the two most disliked presidential candidates in nearly forty years.5 Once it seemed as though the election could not possibly create more media headlines, suspicions emerged that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee ("DNC").6
The DNC reported a breach of its computer network on June 14, 2016, which was quickly attributed to Russian hackers.7 The devastating fallout occurred in waves beginning on July 22, 2016 when WikiLeaks published nearly twenty thousand e-mails and eight thousand attachments from top DNC officials.8 The hackers continued to leak massive amounts of sensitive campaign information in the days leading up to the November 7, 2016 U.S. presidential election.9
On October 7, 2016, the U.S....