The Cyber Law Toolkit, a leading interactive platform on international law and cyber activities, has released its 2026 annual update, further strengthening its role as a trusted reference for governments, militaries, and academics worldwide. The Toolkit is now accepting submissions for new scenarios to be included in the 2027 general update.
The Toolkit offers a unique combination of resources, including detailed hypothetical scenarios, a repository of real-world cyber incidents, and a comprehensive collection of national positions on international law in cyberspace. These features make it an essential guide for officials and practitioners navigating the legal challenges posed by cyber activities.
The 2026 update introduces three new scenarios:
- Scenario 37 explores passive precautions in peacetime, in particular, the extent to which States must prepare for potential cyber operations by separating military and civilian cyber infrastructure and adopting technical, organizational, and other measures to reduce civilian harm under international humanitarian law.
- Scenario 38 is focused on the misuse of protected indicators by an AI cyber defence agent during an international armed conflict. It examines how AI-generated deception, including the spoofing of humanitarian and military identities, may engage IHL rules on protected indicators and perfidy, and whether the agent’s autonomy and lack of foreseeability affect State responsibility.
- Scenario 39 examines cyber torture – specifically whether coordinated, sustained, and technologically sophisticated campaign involving harassment, threats, forced nudity, and constant surveillance can amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international human rights law, and may give rise to individual criminal responsibility.
The collection of real-world incidents has also expanded to nearly 80 entries, capturing the latest developments from around the globe. Meanwhile, the database of State views on international law and cyber activities continues to grow, now tracking national positions of 37 States and two common positions (African Union and European Union).
The project remains a collaborative effort, developed by an editorial team led by Professor Kubo Mačák (University of Exeter), Tomáš Minárik (Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency), and Štěpán Daněk (NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence). Contributions undergo rigorous internal and external peer review, drawing on the expertise of dozens of international lawyers from diverse professional and geographic backgrounds.
In 2025, the Cyber Law Toolkit received the prestigious Jus Gentium Research Award of the American Society of International Law, recognising its contributions to providing and enhancing legal information resources in international law. With this accolade, the Toolkit joined an illustrious list of past recipients including the United Nations Digital Library, the World Legal Information Institute, and the ICC Legal Tools Database.
Call for Submissions
The project team is now inviting proposals for new scenarios for inclusion in the 2027 update. Each submission should describe a hypothetical cyber incident and discuss the international legal issues it presents. The submission deadline is 16 November 2026.
Successful authors will receive an honorarium.
For more information on the submission process, please download the full details: Call for Submissions (PDF)