Max Resing

While diving into the latest #Killnet news, I stumbled upon something I wasn't aware yet -- the colloquially named Geneva Code of cyber-war. It defines the rules of engagement for civilian hackers involved in international conflicts. The rules were defined through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

I am unsure, if hacktivists are very keen in following it, but having such a convention appears to be pretty useful to minimize civilian harm.

#Ukraine #Russia #Hacking #Hacktivism #ICRC #redcross #genevaconvention

8 rules for “civilian hackers” during war, and 4 obligations for states to restrain them - Humanitarian Law & Policy Blog

As digital technology is changing how militaries conduct war, a worrying trend has emerged in which a growing number of civilians become involved in armed conflicts through digital means. Sitting at some distance from physical hostilities, including outside the countries at war, civilians – including hacktivists, to cyber security professionals, ‘white hat’, ‘black hat’ and ‘patriotic’...

Humanitarian Law & Policy Blog
May 30, 2025 at 8:24amWeb
Show threadMax ResingMay 30, 2025

For those interested, the rules are:

  • Do not attack civilian targets.
  • Do not use malware or other tools or techniques that spread automatically and attack military and civilian targets indiscriminately.
  • When planning a cyber-attack against a military target, do everything possible to avoid or minimise any impact on civilians.
  • Do not conduct any cyber-attack against medical and humanitarian facilities.
  • Do not conduct any cyber-attack against anything essential to the survival of the population or that can release dangerous forces.
  • Do not threaten violence to spread terror among civilians.
  • Do not incite violations of international humanitarian law.
  • Comply with these rules even if the enemy doesn't.