The United Nations Security Council and Cyber-Enabled Sanctions

The work of the UN Security Council encompasses a wide range of threats to international peace and security. In order to preserve international peace, the Security Council has the power to enact a number of sanctions. For example, in the 2010-2011 period it enacted a number of sanctions. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 – UN Security Council Sanctions Measures 2010–2011. Source: Author analysis from data in Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, 2010-2011, p. 474. Actions that would require cyber capabilities are highlighted in red.

Of the sanctions adopted, the finance-oriented ones would be enacted almost entirely through the use of cyber tools. In addition, travel ban restrictions would be enacted through the use of cyber to distribute the list of persons who are black-listed. Nevertheless, cyber tools or cyber means as a type of sanction are not listed specifically, although their use is implied.