The Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare is a peer-reviewed law journal, published since 2012, on how law applies to hostile cyber operations: sovereignty and attribution, the use of force, the law of armed conflict, sanctions, critical-infrastructure security and private-sector liability. This page gathers what is most useful to someone drafting a memo, preparing a hearing or evaluating a proposal. Everything linked is free to read without an account.
Policymakers’ guide contents
- Scholarship on federal and international cyber policy
- Notes on the federal cases that shape cyber law
- Subject guides
- Policy dispatches
- Citing, downloading and following the Journal
Scholarship on federal and international cyber policy
Peer-reviewed articles from the bound volumes are listed with their authors and year of publication; where a page carries a Free PDFlink, the typeset article is hosted here in full. Pieces credited to a JLCW desk are the Journal’s own analysis. Every article is in the full article index.
Scholarship addressed to Congress and federal policy
Articles that propose or evaluate specific U.S. statutory, regulatory or enforcement measures.
- A Call to Congress: The Urgent Need for Cyberattack Amendments to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act — Matthew A. Powell (2019) · Free PDF
That Congress should amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act so that foreign states and their agents can be held liable — Matthew A. Powell, JLCW 7.1 - Democrats and Republicans Seek Federal Jurisdiction Over Cybercrimes by Foreign Actors in DNC v. Russian Federation and Broidy Capital Mgmt. v. State of Qatar — Shelly A. Sanford & Meredith Drukker Stratigopoulos (2019)
Whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over foreign actors accused of cybercrimes — Shelly A. Sanford, JLCW 7.2 - If You Wish Cyber Peace, Prepare for Cyber War: The Need for the Federal Government to Protect Critical Infrastructure From Cyber Warfare — Michael Preciado (2012) · Free PDF
This article argues that cyber warfare poses a serious threat to the United States and its critical infrastructure. It highlights the evolution of cyber attacks from hacking to cybercrime and… - Cyber Enhanced Sanction Strategies: Do Options Exist? — Mark Peters (2017) · Free PDF
That economic sanctions be supplemented by cyber means. The author, Mark Peters — Mark Peters, JLCW 6.1 - Is Uncle Sam Stalking You? Abandoning Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Preclude Intrusive Government Searches — J. Alexandra Bruce (2017) · Free PDF
This legal article argues that warrantless electronic surveillance by the government, even for national security purposes, violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches. - Counterterrorism Measures via Internet Intermediaries: A First Amendment & National Security Dilemma — Mohamed H. Aziz (2015) · Free PDF
The tension between counterterrorism efforts directed at internet intermediaries and the protections of the First Amendment — Mohamed H. Aziz, JLCW 4.2
International law, state behaviour and norms
How sovereignty, attribution, the use-of-force rules and the law of armed conflict apply to state cyber operations — and where treaty or norm-building efforts stand.
- Tallinn Manual 3.0: Sovereignty and Attribution in 2025 — JLCW Editor (2025)
The Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations has served as the leading guide for interpreting how international law applies in the cyberspace. However, the… - The UN's Global Mechanism on ICTs Meets Reality: Geopolitical Fault Lines at the First Substantive Plenary — JLCW Research Desk (2026)
The summer of 2026 was meant to mark a turning point in the long and fitful effort to establish durable multilateral governance of cyberspace. After six rounds of time-bound groups of governmental… - Salt Typhoon and the Law of Cyber Espionage: Sovereignty, Attribution, and the Limits of International Law — JLCW Research Desk (2026)
Why international law offers so few remedies for state-sponsored cyber espionage, read through the Salt Typhoon intrusion into U.S. carriers. - Silicon Trenches: Use of Force in the Cyber Age — Jacob L. Azrilyant, Esq (2024) · Free PDF
How international law's kinetic-based definitions of "use of force" and "armed attack," mirrored — Jacob L. Azrilyant, JLCW 9.2 - Responding to the Call for a Digital Geneva Convention: An Open Letter to Brad Smith and the Technology Community — David Wallace & Mark Visger (2018) · Free PDF
The article analyzes Brad Smith’s, President of Microsoft, call for a “Digital Geneva Convention” to address the increasing problem of state-sponsored cyberattacks. - An International Cyber Warfare Treaty: Historical Analogies and Future Prospects — Alexi Franklin (2019) · Free PDF
The prospects for an international treaty governing cyber warfare, reading them against the history of weapons-specific — Alexi Franklin, JLCW 7.1 - From Munitions to Malware: A Comparative Analysis of Civilian Targetability in Cyber Conflict — Colton Matheson (2019) · Free PDF
When a civilian who takes part in cyber hostilities may lawfully be targeted — Colton Matheson, JLCW 7.2
Critical infrastructure, industry and emerging technology
Liability, insurance and defensive measures where private operators sit on the front line.
- The Ransomware Assault on the Healthcare Sector — Malcolm Harkins & Anthony M. Freed (2018) · Free PDF
This article examines the growing threat of ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry. It highlights the vulnerabilities created by the transition to electronic health records (EHRs), which… - Cyber Countermeasures by Private Actors — JLCW Editor (2026)
State linked cyber operations now target private infrastructure with regularity. Energy grids, telecommunications networks, financial institutions, and cloud providers serve as both economic assets… - Cyber Insurance and Corporate Risk in Cybercrime — JLCW Editor (2026)
Cybercrime now imposes direct financial, operational, and reputational costs on companies across every sector. Ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain infiltration, and data theft no… - Regulating Dual Use AI in Cyber Operations — JLCW Editor (2026)
Artificial intelligence now drives many core cybersecurity functions. Machine learning systems detect anomalies, triage alerts, and predict intrusion patterns. These same technologies can also…
Notes on the federal cases that shape cyber law
20structured case notes on decisions that recur in cyber legislation and oversight. Each note states the issue, the rule, the court’s reasoning and the holding, quotes the opinion with locators, and links to the full opinion on CourtListener, the Free Law Project’s public archive. All notes are on the case law page.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
How the federal courts have drawn the line of “authorization” under 18 U.S.C. § 1030.
- Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021)
Supreme Court limits the CFAA: "exceeds authorized access" means entering off-limits files or databases, not misusing data you are allowed to obtain. - hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corporation, 31 F.4th 1180 (9th Cir. 2022)
Ninth Circuit: CFAA 'without authorization' likely does not reach scraping of public web pages, because a public server erects no authorization gate. - United States v. David Nosal, 828 F.3d 865 (9th Cir. 2016), amended and superseded on denial of rehearing en banc, 844 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2016)
Ninth Circuit held revoked CFAA access stays revoked: borrowing a current employee's credentials is still access 'without authorization' under 1030(a)(4). - Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc., 844 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2016), amending and superseding 828 F.3d 1068 (9th Cir. 2016)
Ninth Circuit held a cease-and-desist letter and IP blocks revoked Power Ventures' CFAA authorization, and Facebook users' consent could not restore it. - Sandvig v. Sessions, 315 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D.D.C. 2018)
D.D.C. read the CFAA access provision narrowly: breaching terms of service is not exceeding authorized access, and researchers' as-applied claim survived. - United States v. Andrew Auernheimer, 748 F.3d 525 (3d Cir. 2014)
Third Circuit vacated a CFAA conviction for improper venue: neither the unauthorized access nor the data collection occurred in the charging district. - United States v. Ivanov, 175 F. Supp. 2d 367 (D. Conn. 2001)
A Russian hacker's intrusion happened where the servers sat: the CFAA reaches conduct abroad whose detrimental effects land on U.S. protected computers. - United States v. Robert Tappan Morris, 928 F.2d 504 (2d Cir. 1991)
Second Circuit held CFAA intent runs only to the access, not the damage, and that the Morris Worm's spread was access without authorization.
Platforms, terrorism and Section 230
Anti-Terrorism Act aiding-and-abetting claims and Section 230 immunity for online platforms.
- Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh, 598 U.S. 471 (2023)
Neutral platforms and content algorithms are not culpable participation: the Supreme Court's substantial-assistance test for ATA aiding-and-abetting. - Gonzalez v. Google LLC, 598 U.S. 617 (2023)
Supreme Court left Section 230 immunity for algorithmic recommendations undecided, vacating and remanding an ISIS-attack claim against Google. - Force v. Facebook, Inc., 934 F.3d 53 (2d Cir. 2019)
Recommendation algorithms are publishing conduct: the Second Circuit held Section 230 bars anti-terrorism claims over Hamas content on Facebook. - Crosby v. Twitter, Inc., 921 F.3d 617 (6th Cir. 2019)
No proximate cause: the Sixth Circuit rejected Anti-Terrorism Act claims against platforms hosting ISIS propaganda a lone shooter consumed. - Colon v. Twitter, Inc., 14 F.4th 1213 (11th Cir. 2021)
ISIS claimed credit after the Pulse attack. The Eleventh Circuit held that is not enough to make a lone gunman's rampage international terrorism.
Sovereign immunity, state sponsors and sanctions
The FSIA, JASTA and jurisdiction over foreign states, their agents and their banks.
- WhatsApp Inc. v. NSO Group Technologies Ltd., 17 F.4th 930 (9th Cir. 2021)
Ninth Circuit: the FSIA occupies the field for entities, so spyware vendor NSO Group gets no sovereign immunity for Pegasus operations run by states. - In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 117 F.4th 13 (2d Cir. 2024)
FSIA section 1605A(f) bars collateral-order appeals from nonfinal orders in state-sponsored terrorism suits, so Sudan's 9/11 appeal was dismissed. - Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, 82 F.4th 74 (2d Cir. 2023), rev'd and remanded, 606 U.S. 1 (2025)
Second Circuit held the PSJVTA's deemed-consent jurisdiction over the PLO and PA violated Fifth Amendment due process; the Supreme Court reversed in 2025. - Ofisi v. BNP Paribas, S.A., 77 F.4th 667 (D.C. Cir. 2023)
Evading Sudan sanctions was not conspiracy with or assistance to al-Qaeda: D.C. Circuit affirmed dismissal of embassy-bombing claims against BNP Paribas. - Wildman v. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, No. 23-132 (2d Cir. July 21, 2025)
Knowing that terrorists exploit your banking services is not culpable assistance: Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of JASTA claims against global banks.
Insurance and the meaning of “war”
Whether war exclusions reach hostile acts by non-state actors — the question behind cyber-insurance war clauses.
- Universal Cable Productions, LLC v. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co., 929 F.3d 1143 (9th Cir. 2019)
Ninth Circuit: insurance "war" and "warlike action" exclusions require hostilities between de jure or de facto sovereigns, so Hamas' rockets were not war. - Universal Cable Productions LLC v. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co., 278 F. Supp. 3d 1165 (C.D. Cal. 2017)
District court read the policy's "war" exclusion in its lay sense and denied coverage; the Ninth Circuit reversed for ignoring insurance trade usage.
Subject guides
Each guide opens with an overview of where the law stands in its field, followed by every article the Journal has filed under that subject.
- Sovereignty and Attribution in Cyber Operations
Scholarship on how the international legal order — sovereignty, attribution, the law of armed conflict, and the UN Charter — applies to operations conducted through cyberspace. - Cyber Warfare and the Armed-Attack Threshold
Peer-reviewed analysis of cyber warfare and the law of cyber conflict: when a cyber operation amounts to an armed attack, what states may lawfully do in response, and how the Tallinn Manual framework holds up in practice. - Cyber Weapons and Weapons Review
Legal treatment of cyber capabilities as weapons — Article 36 weapons review, autonomous and AI-enabled systems, proportionality, and constraints on development and deployment. - Cyber Terrorism and Surveillance Powers
Scholarship on cyber terrorism and non-state actors: how terrorism law reaches operations in cyberspace, and where criminal, humanitarian, and national-security frameworks overlap. - Private-Actor Countermeasures and Cyber Risk
The legal exposure companies carry from cyber attacks — breach liability, cyber insurance, regulatory enforcement, disclosure duties, and the private sector's role in national cyber defense.
Policy dispatches
Shorter analysis of current developments — strategy documents, rulemakings, sanctions and alliance commitments. Dispatches bylined JLCW Research Desk are drafted with AI assistance, have their cited sources resolved, and are approved by a human editor before publication, as the editing policy sets out. The full archive is under news & dispatches.
- Sub-Threshold Cyber Attacks on NATO Critical Infrastructure Force a Reckoning Over Legal Response Frameworks — JLCW Research Desk, September 2, 2026 (AI-assisted, editor-approved)
- Offense-First U.S. Cyber Strategy Draws Warnings From CFR and Atlantic Council Analysts — JLCW Research Desk, July 7, 2026 (AI-assisted, editor-approved)
- NATO and European Governments Turn to Collective Attribution as a Legal Tool Against Chinese State Cyber Operations — JLCW Research Desk, July 7, 2026 (AI-assisted, editor-approved)
- The clock starts on CMMC: enforcement and the defense industrial base's compliance reckoning — JLCW Staff Writers, May 19, 2026
- Agencies race to inventory cryptography ahead of post-quantum deadlines — JLCW Staff Writers, May 14, 2026
- Synthetic media and the ballot: election-integrity law heading into the 2026 midterms — Kate Fazzini, April 22, 2026
- Software liability debate sharpens as SBOM mandates take hold — Kate Fazzini, June 9, 2026
- Commercial spyware controls tighten as transparency gaps persist — JLCW Staff Writers, February 18, 2026
- Undersea cable incidents expose gaps in the law of critical infrastructure — JLCW Staff Writers, November 19, 2025
- OFAC sanctions test the legal reach against ransomware's enablers — JLCW Staff Writers, September 16, 2025
- CIRCIA's reporting rule tests the limits of mandatory incident disclosure — JLCW Staff Writers, June 17, 2025
- Water utilities under siege renew the fight over ICS oversight — JLCW Research Desk, April 22, 2025 (AI-assisted, editor-approved)
Citing, downloading and following the Journal
- Citation. Every article page ends with a ready-to-paste citation and BibTeX and RIS downloads for reference managers. Bound-volume articles carry their volume, issue and page range.
- Identifiers. ISSN 2578-6229 (online), ISSN 2578-6245 (print). The bound issues are listed on the volumes page; cataloguing details are on the librarians’ page.
- Reuse. Authors retain copyright, and articles are released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC) unless otherwise noted.
- Updates. New articles and dispatches appear in the RSS feed, and the newsletter sign-up is at the foot of this page.
- Audio.Podcast episodes on several of the articles above — including the critical-infrastructure, ransomware and Digital Geneva Convention pieces — are on the podcasts page.
Contacting the editors
Questions about a piece, permission requests and suggestions for coverage can be sent through the contact form. Published views are their authors’ own, and nothing on this site is legal advice — see the disclaimer.