This module is a resource for lecturers  

 

Student assessment

 

In addition to the exercises, other assessment tools used in this Module are review questions and homework assignments.

 

Review questions

The questions can also be used to promote class discussions during the lecture.

  • What is hacktivism? What are legal responses to hacktivism?
  • What is cyberespionage? What are legal responses to cyberespionage?
  • What is cyberterrorism? What are legal responses to cyberterrorism?
  • What is cyberwarfare? What are legal responses to cyberwarfare?
  • What is information warfare? What are legal responses to information warfare?
  • What is disinformation? What are legal responses to disinformation?
  • What is electoral fraud? What are legal responses to electoral fraud?
 

Homework assignments

Students can be assigned one or more of the following assignments to be completed before class as either a written homework assignment (one to three pages long) and/or be part of the class discussion:

Homework # 1 ~ Hacktivism

In many respects, the legal responses to acts of hacktivism are not significantly different than those taken against acts of traditional activism. Around the world and over the years, depending on their activities, lawsuits have been brought against activists. For example, Greenpeace, a non-governmental environmental activism organization, has engaged in numerous controversial acts of protest which in turn have led to court proceedings with charges ranging from loss of profit to racketeering and from trespassing to sailormongering. The lawsuits were considered by some as attempts by the corporations who were causing environmental harms to silence legitimate forms of protest thus triggering a freedom of speech/freedom expression backlash.

Instruct students to come prepared to class to discuss the ways by which online forms of hacktivism are both similar and distinguishable from offline forms of traditional activism.

As part of this assignment, students should search online and identify a hacktivist group not discussed in this Module and the core readings of this Module. The students should be prepared to discuss the group they selected in class.

 

Homework # 2 ~ Cyberespionage

Please search and find a case (from the last three years) involving cyberespionage that was not covered in this Module or the core readings of this Module. Come prepared to the class  to discuss the case and the actions taken by the country targeted by the cyberespionage incident.

In what ways are new cybercapabilities making espionage more important to address and regulate? Indeed, recall that espionage is the "second oldest profession" and has been part and parcel of statecraft for thousands of years. 

 

Homework # 3 ~ Group exercise: Cyberterrorism laws

Students should be randomly assigned to a group before the class to enable them to complete the assignment before the class meets. Each group should be randomly assigned one country.

Instruct the students to research and identify the following:

  • Their assigned country's law (or laws) covering cyberterrorism
  • The definition of cyberterrorism in this law (or laws)
  • The penalties for cyberterrorism included in the law (or laws)
  • The powers granted to law enforcement in thwarting potential cyberterrorism operations
 

Homework # 4 ~ Which incident is considered cyberterrorism according to national law?

Consider the following scenarios:

  • "The threat to use a…[cyberattack] to disable a city's water distribution system to contaminate drinking water and cause death or illness …[is] made with the primary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population" (example from Rule 36 of the Tallinn Manual).
  • "A false tweet (Twitter message) sent out in order to cause panic, falsely indicating that a highly contagious and deadly disease is spreading rapidly throughout the population" (example from Rule 98 of Tallinn Manual 2.0).

Ask student to answer the following question:

  • Which, if any, of the following cases violate your country's laws? Why do you think so? Please justify your response.
 

Homework # 5 ~ Disinformation and fake news

Instruct students to search and find a case (from the last three years) involving disinformation or fake news that was not covered in this Module or the core readings of this Module. Students should come prepared to discuss their findings in class. Students should also be prepared to answer the following questions in class:

  • In what ways are "fake news" and other forms of cyber-enabled disinformation campaigns distinguishable from traditional and historical forms of propaganda?
  • In what ways can fake news and other forms of cyber-enabled disinformation campaigns be countered?

[Note: This assignment can be changed to a group assignment. Students should be randomly assigned to a group before the class to enable them to complete the assignment before the class meets. Each group should be randomly assigned a specific case of fake news or other form of cyber-enabled disinformation campaign].

 
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