Journal Article - Small Wars Journal

The Cyber Espionage Predominant Purpose Test

| October 20, 2016

While 'spying' may strike some as indecorous state behavior, it is essentially akin to a bodily function, like sneezing, that is necessary to sustaining the health of the body politic.

But can international law meaningfully distinguish between cyberespionage for national security purposes and economic espionage? According to former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Henry M. Paulson, Jr. in Dealing with China, "the distinction between cyberespionage and cybertheft from a company for commercial use can become fuzzy." This article proposes a new approach — a Cyber Espionage Predominant Purpose (CEPP) Test — to resolve international disputes concerning cyberespionage operations that involve mixed elements of national security espionage and commercial espionage....

Continue reading: http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-cyber-espionage-predominant-purpose-test

For more information on this publication: Please contact Cyber Project
For Academic Citation: Malekos Smith, Jessica. The Cyber Espionage Predominant Purpose Test.” Small Wars Journal, (October 20, 2016) .