Deterrence and Accountability

In cyberspace, the effectiveness of deterrence remains contested. Deterrence involves influencing adversary behavior in a way that prevents them from engaging in malicious acts.

Deterrence necessitates similar conditions as accountability, such as transparency, openness, and the ability to impose consequences for undesirable behavior. To explore the relationship between accountability and deterrence in cyberspace, this paper outlines three pathways that states utilize to deter malicious conduct and promote accountability: shaping the normative environment, punishing bad behavior, or denying bad behavior.

This paper was the result of a collaboration between the Cyber Program and EU Institute for Security Studies and its EU Cyber Direct Project. This project includes five research papers, published jointly with EU Cyber Direct, each of which explores accountability through the lens of regional-level mechanisms and lenses such as deterrence and capacity building.