A/76/136 Australia will, in its sole discretion, and based on its own judgement, attribute unlawful cyber operations to another state. In making such decisions, Australia relies on the assessments of its law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and consultations with its international partners (see e.g. Figure 3). A cyber operation will be attributable to a state under international law where, for example, the operation was conducted by an organ of the state; by persons or entities exercising elements of governmental authority; or by non-state actors operating under the direction or control of the state. As outlined in the Strategy, if a state is a victim of malicious cyber activity which is attributable to a perpetrator state, the victim state may be able to take countermeasures (whether in cyberspace or through another means) against the perpetrator state, under certain circumstances. Countermeasures are measures, which would otherwise be unlawful, taken to secure cessation of, or reparation for, the other state’s unlawful conduct. Countermeasures in cyberspace cannot amount to a use of force and must be proportionate. States are able to respond to other States’ malicious activity with acts of retorsion, which are unfriendly acts that are not inconsistent with any of the State’s international obligations. If a state is the victim of harmful conduct in cyberspace, that state could be entitled to remedies in the form of restitution, compensation or satisfaction. In the cyber context, this may mean that the victim-state could for example seek replacement of damaged hardware or compensation for the foreseeable physical and financial losses resulting from the damage to servers, as well as assurances or guarantees of non-repetition. Brazil [Original: English] Brazil firmly believes that in their use of information and communications technologies, States must comply with international law, including the United Nations Charter, international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The United Nations and other regional organizations have recognized that international law, and in particular the Charter of the United Nations, is applicable to States’ ICTrelated activity in cyberspace and is essential to maintaining peace and stability and promoting an open, secure, peaceful and accessible ICT environment 10. Hence, in current discussions, the question is no longer whether, but how international law applies to the use of ICTs by States. While analogies in relation to the physical world might work most of the time to determine the manner in which international law applies, cyberspace’s unique characteristics create new situations that international law was not originally designed to address. The interconnectivity of information systems, the intangible components of cyberspace, the fluidity of jurisdictions and the potential anonymity of cyber operations, among other factors, pose new challenges to international law, whose development has been based on a physical and territorial international order. __________________ 10 21-09670 United Nations Report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security, para. 19, UN DOC. A/68/98 (June, 24, 2013); United Nations Report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security, paras.13, 24 and 28(b) UN DOC A/70/174 (22 July 2015); United Nations Report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing responsible State behavior in cyberspace in the context of international security, para. 71(b) (May 2021, advance copy). 17/142