Date of Conferral

5-14-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Dr. Christopher Atkinson

Abstract

Cyberterrorists use cyberspace to communicate their threats and conduct their actions to intimidate their political, religious, or ideological control. The literature reviewed on cyberterrorism and international law has been limited and continues to develop as cyberterrorists develop their skills and capabilities to conduct cyberattacks. A gap exists in the literature on how nation-states respond to a cyberattack, cyber warfare, or cyberterrorism under international laws and policies. The problem is that international laws are being outpaced by the development of new technology, which cybercriminals and cyberterrorists can circumvent in order to escape punishment for a cyberattack. The purpose of this basic qualitative study, using punctuated equilibrium theory and case studies, was to explore the perception of the public policy decision makers’ assessment and perceived risk of cyberterrorism against the United States and allies and how a nation-state can respond to a cyberattack. The results from the interviews identified cyberterrorism as a subcategory of terrorism due to both terms using violence and fear to coerce a nation-state for their (cyberterrorist) purpose or goals. The results also identified the United States could respond to a cyberattack under international laws, UN Charter Article 51, but would be limited in the response due to the need to attribute the cyberattack to a particular non-state actor or nation-state. The study can contribute to advancing social change through informing and influencing future international law and policy changes on cyberterrorism and how cybersecurity is perceived by public policy decision makers as a national security risk and not just an internet risk.

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