The Dangers of Forceful Countermeasures as a Response to Cyber Election Interference

Abstract Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, publicity, and impact, making significant cyber episodes a hallmark of modern foreign policy. One subset of these cyberattacks is state-supported interference in elections. For this form of election interference, existing international law offers states limited response options. This predicament has led some state officials and international legal experts to champion creative interpretations of international law that would allow forceful retributions—or “forceful countermeasures”—on cyber election interferers to dissuade states from conducting online election interference. This chapter explores both the existing international legal framework that apples to cyber interference in elections and the proposals to accept the possibility of forceful countermeasures. It concludes that although countermeasures are available above the use-of-force threshold, states should resist engaging in forceful countermeasures when addressing cyber election interference. States can employ other mechanisms, including drafting a new treaty regulating interference in the digital age, rather than stretching countermeasures doctrine beyond a prudent scope.