Grant by the Groningen University Fund for research into cyber operations

Evgeni Moyakine has been awarded a grant of 13,500 euros by the Groningen University Fund for the project 'One must repair the roof when the sun is shining.’ In this project, Moyakine, lecturer at the IT Law department, will investigate the circumstances under which and how cyber operations carried out against the ( Northern ) Netherlands can be attributed to states, when state responsibility can be invoked, and what the legal consequences of this are.

This legal-empirical research will involve students as well as experts in the field of cyber security, among other things, a study trip to Israel will be organized and knowledge and new insights will be gained, applied, and further developed to increase the digital security of the region and the Netherlands.

A large number of cyber-attacks are probably carried out with the support of state actors against vital infrastructures and companies of various countries. However, it is far from clear whether and how these cyber operations can be legally attributed to states that are not infrequently hiding behind these activities in cyberspace. Geopolitical tensions continue to rise and countries such as China, Iran, and Russia have offensive cyber programmes specifically aimed at the Netherlands. Moyakine: 'The digital threat is permanent and the resilience of our society lags behind. It is therefore of great importance that legal solutions to the emerging problem are sought and found.’

IT law students at the University of Groningen who are interested in the topic and would like to contribute to the project or would like to know more about it, can contact the researcher via e.v.moyakine step-rug.nl.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.