Preserving Constitutional Integrity in the Age of Cyberwarfare: A Paper Tiger, or Death by a Thousand Cuts?

Authors

Darren Singh

Abstract

The Constitution is meant to serve as a necessary constraint on unilateral Executive military actions. Today, nation-states and non-state actors can launch devastating cyberattacks on the infrastructure, economy, military, and democratic systems of the United States. These attacks do not fall within the realm of “hostile actions” necessary to constitute war. Cyberattacks from adversaries are best deterred with offensive cyberattacks of our own. The President is the best actor to superintend and direct this active defense. Neither the Constitution nor the War Powers Resolution, however, offer a framework for how the United States may respond to these threats while also balancing shared war powers. Congress should prevent the further expansion of precedence granting the Executive access to an entire destructive technology alone and without accountability.

Recommended Citation

Darren Singh, Preserving Constitutional Integrity in the Age of Cyberwarfare: A Paper Tiger, or Death by a Thousand Cuts?, 50 Hastings Const. L.Q. 349 (2023).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly/vol50/iss4/3