This bill would authorize the President to issue "cyber letters of marque and reprisal" that commission private companies and individuals to conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign targets designated as cyberthreats. The legislation aims to disrupt cybercriminal networks, recover stolen digital assets and cryptocurrency, and return funds to American victims of cyber-enabled crimes like ransomware and fraud. Operators holding these letters could conduct activities like data recovery, asset seizure, and infrastructure disruption, but would be prohibited from targeting U.S. citizens or entities and would need to post security bonds and maintain detailed records. The President could require license holders to forfeit up to 15 percent of recovered assets to fund future operations, with remaining recovered funds deposited into the Crime Victims Fund, while also allowing informants without letters to claim up to 5 percent of assets recovered as rewards. The bill provides liability protections for authorized operators, insulating them from lawsuits for actions expressly approved under their letters.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.