Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Cyber Warfare: A Critical Examination Of National Security Risks And The Adequacy Of International And Domestic Legal Frameworks
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 19
- 2 min read
Gaurav Kumar Yadav, PhD Research Scholar, School of Law, Mahindra University
Madabushi Venkata Vasudev, PhD Research Scholar, School of Law, Mahindra University
Dr. Rishi Raj Bhardwaj, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Mahindra University
ABSTRACT
Cyber warfare is the domain where autonomous, huge, and adaptive cyber operations driven by AI have transformed warfare by significantly minimizing human participation in decision-making. The application of AI to both offensive and defensive cyber domains has brought forth unprecedented levels of, difficulty and occurrence of, and speed of cyber operations leading to new forms of international security and global legal order. The use of AI in cyber warfare enables more potent cyberattacks via advanced functionalities like automated vulnerability discovery, smart malware, data analytics predicting attack pathways, and disinformation. On the other hand, attribution, accountability, and conformism with the principles of established international law will continue to pose challenges as the employment of cyber tools that leverage AI to such a great degree continues to multiply and grow. Use of AI driven cyber tools is already raising grave concerns about IHL (International Humanitarian Law), law on use of force and states’ responsibilities within cyber space. For a truth that is AI is an autonomous entity that challenges our most fundamental legal notions, including human control distinction, need, military operations and accountability, thus making the current legal regimes have major holes. In fact, the question that we really should ask is whether the present national and international legal regimes are fit to govern autonomous cyber operations during peacetime and in armed conflict. In this study, we inspect a series of controversial issues originating from the interplay between national security, the legal governance and AI enabled cyber warfare. The expansion of cyberspace as a theater of war, cyber vulnerabilities on the infrastructure of national security and the ever-growing threats posed largely by AI-enabled malware, deepfakes, automated hacking and manipulation of info will be looked at. A number of relevant international legal documents, policy regulations on cybersecurity and states behavior along with historically relevant events such as the well-known STUXNET event have been utilized here as an aid to determine the capability of national legal and regulation to be able to face the emerging cyber threat. Furthermore, the study argues for a practical legal and policy framework aimed at fostering good governance of AI, development international collaboration, inspiring public-private cooperation, establishing strong rules on human control and answerability and acknowledgement of AI-powered operations in cyberspace.
KEYWORDS: AI, Digital World, Cyber Operations, Military Operation, National Security.
