H.R. 9697: Cyber Letters of Marque and Reprisal Act

This bill would let the President authorize private companies or individuals to carry out certain cyber operations against foreign “designated cyberthreats” that are linked to attacks on U.S. people or property. It revives the old idea of a “letter of marque and reprisal,” but applies it to cyberspace.

What it would allow

• The President could issue a federal commission to a private person or entity to conduct specified cyber operations against a foreign target.
• Those operations could include intelligence collection, recovering data, seizing digital assets like cryptocurrency, disrupting malicious infrastructure, and other actions meant to disrupt or destroy networks tied to the target.
• The bill says these operations could be used to disrupt, degrade, seize, and repatriate assets, property, or infrastructure located outside the United States that belong to a designated cyberthreat.

Who could be targeted

• A “designated cyberthreat” would be a foreign person, group, or entity identified by the President as responsible for or sponsoring cyberattacks against U.S. persons or assets.
• The target would also have to be listed in a public registry under applicable law.

Conditions and limits

• The President could require recipients to post a security bond, which could be forfeited if they violate the terms of the commission.
• Recipients would be barred from knowingly conducting operations against U.S. citizens or U.S. entities.
• They would have to keep records of their activities and assets seized for at least five years.
• The President could issue guidance on who qualifies for these commissions and how far operations could extend beyond cyberspace.

Money and incentives

• The President could require up to 15% of recovered assets to go to the United States to help fund future cyber operations.
• Recovered funds could be used to pay bounties to holders of these cyber commissions.
• People without a commission could receive up to 5% of recovered assets for providing information that leads to recovery.
• Any remaining recovered funds would go to the Crime Victims Fund.

Liability protection

• People acting within the authority of an issued letter of marque would be protected from lawsuits for actions expressly authorized by that letter.

Other effect

• The bill also says that if Congress later authorizes traditional letters of marque for sea, land, air, or space, holders of cyber letters could be allowed to operate in those areas to the extent the President permits.

Relevant Companies

None found