LABScon Replay | Are Digital Technologies Eroding the Principle of Distinction in War?

Until now, the cyber capabilities of a State have been primarily assessed on a technical and tactical perspective: the coordination of APT teams, the quality of malware, and the sophistication of exploits, to give some examples. However, describing such cyber operations is no longer sufficient to understand the capabilities that States deploy in the digital sphere during armed conflicts.

Cyber activities are part of a broader context, the digital one. Armies in conflict are increasingly digitized as are the involved populations. States may encourage civilians to engage in offensive cyber operations against targets associated with the enemy or encourage users to contribute to the military effort.

In this presentation, One Click from Conflict: Are Digital Technologies Eroding the Principle of Distinction in War?, the ICRC’s Mauro Vignati discusses how technology has completely transformed the way civilians live through armed conflicts.

In recent conflicts, smartphones and apps especially have become weaponized, slowly removing traditional barriers that divide the roles of civilians and combatants. Mauro breaks down the dangers and consequences of this paradigm shift and discusses what states and private organizations can do to stop technological weaponization from harming civilians caught in wartime.

About the Presenter:
Mauro Vignati currently holds the role of Advisor on Digital Technologies of Warfare for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Having worked with the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and now the ICRC, Mauro brings nearly two decades’ worth of expertise on the prevention, identification, and analysis of advanced persistent threats (APTs), mainly from state-sponsored groups.

About LABScon:
This presentation was featured live at LABScon 2022, an immersive 3-day conference bringing together the world’s top cybersecurity minds, hosted by SentinelOne’s research arm, SentinelLabs.