Protection of civilian data from cyber attacks in armed conflicts

Cyber operations targeting civilian data can in a present-day context operate in somewhat of a grey area. Because of this, states and non-state groups can attack civilian data during an armed conflict without consequens in most cases, which can rapidly cause more harm to the civilian population than the destruction of physical civilian objects. Since states have in many cases been reluctant to share their views on how international humanitarian law applies to the case of data as a civilian object, this thesis sets out to clarify whether data is protected from attack during an armed conflict. The general protection of civilians and civilian objects seams to be unfit to deal with the notion of computer data being digital in nature, as opposed to material. It is therefore only in very specific contexts that civilian computer data will be protected from cyber operation, due to the consequences of the operation qualifying it as an attack. International humanitarian law, however, affords special protection to certain objects, persons and activities. Since these protections are in most cases applied in an overreaching manner some civilian data, falling witing the grasps of special protection, can be protected from attack