Less than five years later, every major cybersecurity vendor now stresses the crucial role that machine learning plays in allowing their products to identify anomalies and issue timely protections at scale. This system demonstrated it was possible for a computer to find, test, and patch vulnerabilities in real time.

In 2016, while responding to a challenge proposed by the US Department of Defense, a company named ForAllSecure introduced a system called Mayhem. The application of machine learning has accelerated at a rapid pace as governments and technology companies seek to capitalize on efficiencies of scale and automation in the cyber domain. This blog explores future developments in military cyber operations along the themes of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and recent State-sponsored cyber events. These developments, in a domain where international law is recognized to apply, but where specific international norms are still fairly nascent, accentuate the need for governments to thoroughly consider the risks of civilian harm that may result as byproducts of their cyber operations. In the last decade alone, military cyber units have evolved at a substantial rate, while cyber attacks attributed to advanced persistent threats have now become commonplace headlines in our daily news cycles. However, while the benefits are numerous, the interconnected nature of this medium, and its freedom to cross international borders, has led many governments to establish military elements for the dual purpose of defending their national interests, as well as projecting power. The internet has also played an undeniably crucial role in enabling remote workforces worldwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few decades, this technology has fundamentally changed how we communicate, learn, conduct business, manage critical infrastructure, and execute government affairs. Current estimates assess there are between four and five billion global internet users connecting on one or more devices every day. The significance of technology and internet access for modern society cannot be understated.

Law of armed conflict for cyberspace