On the Issue of International Legal Guarantees for Personal Data Protection in the Context of Hybrid Warfare

Abstract

This article investigates the complex problem of protecting human personal data during modern armed conflicts, particularly through the prism of hybrid warfare. The rapid pace of digitalization, the advancement of artificial intelligence technologies, and their active integration into the military sphere drive the relevance of this study. These factors cause fundamental changes in the methods and means of warfare, as well as in the very purpose of armed conflict. Today, informational influence and psychological pressure on the enemy's population - which are not always accompanied by a direct armed attack - constitute an integral component of any 21st-century military conflict. Consequently, the study analyzes the concept of hybrid warfare, defining it through characteristic features such as asymmetry, large-scale involvement of non-state actors, latency, and a combination of military and non-military means of struggle.

The research specifically focuses on the role of generative artificial intelligence in the context of growing cyber threats. The paper emphasizes that unauthorized access to individuals' personal data during an armed conflict allows opposing parties to exert targeted psychological influence on population groups or individuals, manipulate public opinion through disinformation and «deepfakes,» and apply illegal filtration and terror against the population.

Furthermore, this study analyzes the current international legal framework regarding personal data protection in conflict conditions. It examines the provisions of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. The findings establish that IHL norms lack special provisions for protecting digitized information. Moreover, ongoing discussions among researchers regarding the recognition of digital data as a «civilian object» significantly complicate the qualification of an enemy's actions in cyberspace as a violation of international humanitarian law.

Finally, the article explores the provisions of specific international acts regulating data protection. The analysis determines that the permitted derogation from certain obligations in this sphere can lead to state abuses, often hidden behind the necessity of ensuring national security and defense. Ultimately, the paper highlights that international human rights law, through the provisions of international treaties and the case law of the ECtHR, establishes general guarantees to ensure compliance with the criteria of legality, strict necessity, and proportionality when interfering with the human right to personal data protection.