Cyber Letters of Marque and Reprisal Act

Key Points

• This bill would let the government give private companies permission to hack foreign groups that steal money from Americans. These permissions are called letters of marque and reprisal, which were historically used to hire private ships to fight pirates on the high seas.
• The goal is to stop cybercrimes like ransomware and crypto scams that target seniors and other vulnerable people. Private hackers would be allowed to break into foreign computer systems to take back stolen money and disrupt criminal networks.
• Companies that get these commissions would be allowed to keep most of the money they recover. Up to 15 percent of the recovered assets would go to the government to fund more bounty programs and help crime victims.
• To make sure these private hackers follow the rules, they must pay a security deposit and keep detailed records of everything they do for five years. They are strictly forbidden from targeting any American citizens or businesses.
• The bill protects these private hackers from being sued for any actions that the government specifically authorized them to take against foreign threats.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.