Stuxnet as cyber-enabled sanctions enforcement

Our re-reinterpretation of Stuxnet to connect the dot between geopolitics and technology tell a different story with a secondary set of lessons. We believe Stuxnet deserves a broader legal and political analysis for the purposes of critical thinking about how cyberspace is used to achieve international security objectives from legal and political angles. In particular, we seek to address a gap in the literature, asking whether the worm was authorized under article 41 of the UN charter as a sanctions enforcement tool through an interpretation of UNSC resolutions and related documents of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). If such authorization exists (and we believe it might), Stuxnet would qualify as a lawful action under international law, targeting Iran’s nuclear equipment and software pursuant to international sanctions.