SİBER SALDIRILARDA SİLAHLI SALDIRI EŞİĞİNİN BELİRLENMESİ: ULUSLARARASI HUKUKTA İSNAT VE MEŞRU MÜDAFAA İKİLEMİ

Abstract

Dijital çağ, devletlerarasındaki güç kullanım biçimlerini dönüştürmüş; özellikle kritik altyapılara, kamu hizmetlerine ve stratejik veri sistemlerine yönelen siber operasyonlar uluslararası güvenlik bakımından yeni hukuki sorunlar ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bu gelişmeler, siber eylemlerin uluslararası hukukta hangi koşullarda “kuvvet kullanımı” veya “silahlı saldırı” olarak nitelendirilebileceği sorusunu merkezî bir tartışma konusu hâline getirmiştir. Birleşmiş Milletler Antlaşması’nın 2(4) maddesinde yer alan kuvvet kullanma yasağı ile 51. maddede düzenlenen meşru müdafaa hakkı, siber operasyonların hukuki değerlendirilmesinde temel normatif çerçeveyi oluşturmaktadır. Uluslararası Adalet Divanı içtihadında geliştirilen “ölçek ve etkiler” kriteri ise, bir eylemin silahlı saldırı düzeyine ulaşıp ulaşmadığının tespitinde belirleyici bir ölçüt olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bununla birlikte, siber operasyonların maddi etkilerinin niteliği kadar, bu eylemlerin belirli bir devlete atfedilebilir olup olmadığı da silahlı saldırı değerlendirmesinde kritik bir rol oynamaktadır. Bu çalışma, siber operasyonların silahlı saldırı eşiği bağlamında nasıl değerlendirileceğini incelemekte; ölçek ve etkiler kriteri ile devlete isnat sorunu arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışmada, siber alandaki teknik ve delil temelli güçlüklerin, meşru müdafaa hakkının uygulanabilirliği üzerinde doğurduğu sonuçlar tartışılmakta ve mevcut uluslararası hukuk çerçevesinin bu yeni güç kullanım biçimlerine ne ölçüde cevap verebildiği değerlendirilmektedir.

Keywords

• Siber operasyonlar
• Silahlı saldırı eşiği
• Devlete isnat
• Meşru müdafaa hakkı

DETERMINING THE THRESHOLD OF ARMED ATTACK IN CYBER OPERATIONS: ATTRIBUTION AND THE SELF-DEFENCE DILEMMA IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

The digital age has transformed the ways in which force is exercised among states. Cyber operations targeting critical infrastructure, public services, and strategic data systems have generated new legal challenges for international security. In this context, the question of under what conditions cyber operations may qualify as a “use of force” or rise to the level of an “armed attack” has become a central issue in international law.The prohibition of the use of force under Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations and the right of self-defence enshrined in Article 51 constitute the primary normative framework for assessing cyber operations. The “scale and effects” test developed in the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice remains the principal criterion for determining whether a particular cyber operation reaches the threshold of an armed attack. However, beyond the material consequences of a cyber operation, the question of attribution to a state plays a decisive role in this assessment.This study examines how cyber operations should be evaluated within the framework of the armed attack threshold, with particular emphasis on the relationship between the scale and effects criterion and the problem of state attribution. It further analyses how the technical and evidentiary challenges inherent in cyberspace affect the practical exercise of the right of self-defence and assesses the extent to which the existing framework of international law is capable of addressing these emerging forms of force.

Keywords

• Cyber operations
• Armed attack threshold
• State attribution
• Right of self-defence
• Scale and effects test

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