A cybercrime treaty that established universal jurisdiction over crimes and an international tribunal could help deter cybercrimes

The recent cyberattacks on Estonia, Georgia, and Iran demonstrate the shortcomings of both international criminal law governing cybercrime and he absence of international law addressing cyberterrorism and cyberwarfare. In a world where internet commerce is increasingly important to the growth of the global economy, nations cannot afford to shape cybersecurity law unilaterally in furtherance of provincial interests at the expense of a concerted international effort to develop uniform cybersecurity law. As the economic futures of nations become ever more intertwined, international consensus on issues like cyberaggression is essential to global security and economic well-being.

Analogizing cyberthreats to the concerns that spawned cooperation in developing international maritime law is a useful starting point for analyzing and developing an international response that is necessary to meaningfully address global cybersecurity. Without an international agreement that defines the spectrum of cyberaggression, provides for some form of universal jurisdiction over perpetrators, and establishes an international organization focused on cybersecurity policy, the threat to international security posed by cyberaggression will continue to grow. To that end, the mere existence of an international cybercrime tribunal would go a long way toward encouraging cooperation on the development of international norms relating to cybercrime, while allowing nations to retain some level of autonomy in the development and enforcement of domestic cybersecurity policy.