Feasibility of Legitimate Self-defense through Cyber Attacks

International law has generally been unable to precisely regulate the rules of cyber operations thus far. This is due to the complexity of cyberspace, the nature of the technology, and the need to adapt existing laws to technological developments. Many previous international rules, such as those related to armed attacks, war, or human rights, do not directly apply to cyber operations. Instead, some general principles and concepts may apply cyber operations. Therefore, there are no precise rules regarding cyber operations, and many existing international concepts and rules may not be readily applicable to cyber operations. This is a significant challenge in the field of international law, which has led to the need to develop new rules and standards for this domain as technology progresses and cyber operations continue to grow. One of these concepts is the conduct of cyber operations and cyber-attacks by one state against another under the principle of legitimate self-defense. This research, while identifying cyber-attacks, examined the question of whether, from the perspective of international law, cyber-attacks against a country in a state of acute self-defense, where the very existence of the state is at risk, are permissible or prohibited. The research conducted is descriptive-analytical, the author hypothesized that states may use this type of attack in self-defense due to the specific characteristics of cyber operations, including high and irreparable destructive power.