An 18th-century war power resurfaces in cyber policy talks

Can a centuries-old war power used for legalizing piracy be the key to U.S. cyber retaliation?

The Trump administration and industry partners have discussed whether privateering contracts — once used to deputize pirate ships — could offer inspiration for authorizing private sector hacking operations against China, though many say the 18th-century tool wouldn’t cleanly map onto modern cyber warfare.

The authority stems from a historically maritime legal mechanism, known as a letter of marque, that allowed privately owned ships to lawfully attack other vessels. Today, that authorization would aim to give the U.S. a better fighting chance against China and other nation-state adversaries. 

… “So there’s a valuable question — how do we start shifting the equation to put more onus on the adversary? We need to lean forward into a more proactive approach, provided actions are taken in partnership between industry and government,” said Cilluffo, who now leads the McCrary Institute, a cybersecurity policy think tank at Auburn University. “Letters of marque are a piece of the puzzle and can certainly be a piece of a larger strategic approach on increased offensive cyber capabilities.”