COLLECTIVE COUNTERMEASURES IN CYBERSPACE: THE ROLE OF THE AFRICAN UNION IN ADDRESSING STATE-SPONSORED CYBER ATTACKS IN AFRICA

Technological advancement in the 21st century brings numerous challenges and opportunities.
Critical digital infrastructures can suffer a cyberattack with a click of a computer button, leading
to harmful physical consequences. Some of these cyberattacks are conducted by cybercriminals,
cyber terrorists and other actors, but the majority of the attacks are state-sponsored attacks, usually
for political reasons. When a state-sponsored cyberattack strikes and infringes on the victim state's
sovereignty, the victim state has options available under international law to respond. Taking
countermeasures is one recognised response to such internationally wrongful conduct. However,
since African states still struggle to keep pace with the constant technological advancement, this
paper examines the possibility of other African states collaborating with the victim state in taking
appropriate countermeasures through the African Union Organization. Generally, international law
does not permit such collective countermeasures. However, state practice and evidence from
regional organisations like the European Union indicate that the African Union can take measures
to protect its member states equally. This paper examines the legality of such collective
countermeasures and recommends a suitable cyber response framework for the African Union,
drawing from the European Union Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox.

21世纪的技术进步带来了诸多挑战与机遇。关键数字基础设施仅需一次鼠标点击即可遭受网络攻击，并由此引发严重的实体损害后果。此类网络攻击的实施主体涵盖网络罪犯、网络恐怖分子及其他行为人，但绝大多数攻击均为国家支持的行动，通常出于政治目的。当国家支持的网络攻击爆发并侵犯受害国主权时，受害国可依据国际法采取应对举措，其中反制措施是针对这类国际不法行为的公认应对方式之一。然而，由于非洲各国仍难以跟上技术持续迭代的步伐，本文探讨了其他非洲国家通过非洲联盟（African Union）与受害国协作，采取适当反制措施的可能性。总体而言，国际法并不允许此类集体反制措施。但从欧盟（European Union）等区域组织的实践与佐证来看，非洲联盟完全可以采取措施平等保护其成员国。本文将探讨此类集体反制措施的合法性，并借鉴欧盟《网络外交工具箱》（Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox），为非洲联盟提出一套适配的网络应对框架。