Biden’s Biggest National Security Threat
Overview
Foreign cyberattacks designed to manipulate American citizens and undermine American Democracy are the primary national security threat facing the United States in 2020. The Biden administration should leverage the United States’ seat on the United Nations Security Council to advocate for the development of international cyber warfare law.
Threats of Cyber Warfare
The primary national security threat facing the United States today is cyber warfare from foreign states. Foreign cyberattacks weaken national security by compromising the privacy of Americans and manipulating domestic public opinion. For example, in 2016 Russian actors used a variety of cyberattacks to manipulate a seminal tradition of American Democracy: the presidential election. Specifically, Vladimir Putin directed a collection of cyberattacks designed to harm Hillary Clinton’s campaign, boost Donald Trump’s campaign, and increase political discord in the United States (Ross 2016). Successful foreign election interference jeopardizes America’s democratic sovereignty. Without democratic sovereignty, one of Robert Dahl’s three “Procedural Minimal” conditions of democracy, the United States’ status as a democratic nation is jeopardized. If the United States isn’t a democracy itself, how can it credibly advocate for democracy in other states?
Russia isn’t the only cyberattacker targeting American Democracy; officials from the White House, the Justice Department, and the State Department claimed that China planned to use HuaWei’s 5G infrastructure to illegally spy on American consumers (Dilanian 2020). Previously, China was accused of using HuaWei’s smartphones to conduct a similar form of international cyberattack. In 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially declared HuaWei a “national security threat” (Kharpal 2020).
Proposed Policy Response
To minimize the risk of further cyberattacks, the Biden administration should leverage the US’s seat on the United Nations Security Council to advocate for the standardization of international cyber warfare law. International cyber warfare law backed by the United Nations should establish an application of existing international war laws to cyber warfare and outline punishment mechanisms for international actors that execute cyberattacks.
The United Nations supports various multilateral agreements related to armed conflict. For example, the armed conflict legislation established during the 1949 Geneva Conventions has been ratified by all Member States of the United Nations (Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect). However, the application of existing international warfare law to cyber warfare isn’t clearly defined. For example, it’s not clear whether jus ad bellum, the international law governing the resort to force by states, and jus in bello, the international law regulating the conduct of armed conflict, apply to cyber warfare (Talihärm).
Political Challenges
Developing mutually agreed-upon cyber warfare law will be difficult. Currently, cybersecurity legislation is developed and enforced by various independent regional and national actors. Consequently, cybersecurity standards vary around the world. Despite states’ varying appetites for cyber warfare, consensus support for any new legislation will be essential since each permanent member of the United Nations Security Council possesses veto power. Reaching a unanimously supported agreement on cyber warfare laws will require concessions from countries around the world including the United States. For example, states with the most established cyber warfare programs may have to scale back their existing operations to comply with new legislation. To reach consensus, American negotiators must convince other states that any proposed legislation is mutually beneficial.
The strength of cyber warfare law depends on its enforcement mechanisms; states will violate laws if they face no consequences for doing so. Unfortunately, cyber warfare attacks are often secretive and difficult to trace. The United Nations should monitor states’ cyber warfare programs in the same manner in which they currently monitor states’ nuclear weapons programs. Specifically, the United Nations will need to conduct thorough, technical inspections of states’ cyber warfare capabilities.
Sources
Dilanian, Ken. 2020. “U.S. officials: Using Huawei tech opens door to Chinese spying, censorship.” NBC News, February 14, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-officials-using-huawei-tech-opens-door-chinese-spying-n1136956
Kharpal, Arjun. 2020. “China’s Huawei and ZTE officially designated ‘national security threats’ by the FCC.” CNBC News, June 30, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/01/fcc-huawei-zte-officially-designated-national-security-threats.html
Ross, Brian; Schwartz, Rhonda; Meek, James Gordon. 2016. “Officials: Master Spy Vladimir Putin Now Directly Linked to US Hacking.” ABC News, December 15, 2016. https://abcnews.go.com/International/officials-master-spy-vladimir-putin-now-directly-linked/story?id=44210901
Talihärm, Anna-Maria. “Towards Cyberpeace: Managing Cyberwar Through International Cooperation.” United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/towards-cyberpeace-managing-cyberwar-through-international-cooperation
Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. “War Crimes.” United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/war-crimes.shtml
