Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) or Law of War
Dublin Core
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Description
The LOAC is a treaty obligation under the Geneva Conventions. It aims to protect civilians, prisoners of war, the wounded/sick, etc. during times of war. It regulates the conduct of armed hostilities in order to prevent unnecessary suffering and destruction. The Law of War Program requires all military departments to design a program that will ensure LOAC regulations. Also, training is required by the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Any violation of LOAC will result in war crime charges.
The LOAC protects civilians from unauthorized military attacks. A lot of fear surrounding cyber attacks comes from the possibility of critical infrastructure damage. Civilians in the United States would undoubtedly be affected if an attack was effective. Since the attribution of cyber attacks is near impossible to discover, the LOAC might be outdated in the sense that it does not take into account cyber attacks.