---
title: Options for Accountability for Cyber Attacks
description: As cyber attacks escalate worldwide, this post explores how courts and litigation could provide new pathways for accountability for state-sponsored cyber operations.
---

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# [Options for Accountability for Cyber Attacks](https://www.techandjustice.bsg.ox.ac.uk/insights/options-for-accountability-for-cyber-attacks)

 Written by [OITJ](https://www.techandjustice.bsg.ox.ac.uk/insights/author/oitj) | Oct 20, 2025 8:00:00 AM

## Will Victims of Cyber Attacks Soon Get Their Day in Court? Options for Accountability for Cyber Attacks

#### By Harriet Moynihan, Amal Clooney and Philippa Webb

As cyber attacks escalate amid rising geopolitical tensions, public services such as healthcare and critical infrastructure are increasingly targeted, causing severe human and economic harm. While states have relied on diplomacy, sanctions, and attribution to respond, litigation has so far been underused.

This blog post explores how courts could provide new pathways to accountability for malicious cyber operations. It examines the potential for inter-state litigation before international and regional courts, the role of advisory opinions, and the challenges of attribution, evidence, and jurisdiction. The post also considers domestic and international criminal prosecutions, civil proceedings, and recent enforcement successes. It argues that developments in evidence gathering and cooperation are making legal accountability more viable, and that as cyber harms grow, litigation is likely to play an increasingly important role in securing justice and redress.

 

[View full post](https://www.techandjustice.bsg.ox.ac.uk/insights/options-for-accountability-for-cyber-attacks)

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