The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has, for the first time, published rules of engagement for civilian hackers involved in conflicts.
The eight rules include bans on attacks on hospitals, hacking tools that spread uncontrollably and threats that engender terror among civilians.
It is also warning hackers their actions can endanger lives, including their own if deemed to make them a legitimate military target.
But the worrying trend, accelerated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is now spreading globally, ICRC legal adviser Dr Tilman Rodenhäuser says.
“However, some of the groups we’re seeing on both sides are large and these ‘armies’ have disrupted… banks, companies, pharmacies, hospitals, railway networks and civilian government services.”
The IT Army of Ukraine, which has 160,000 members on its Telegram channel, also targets public services such as railway systems and banks.
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