Eye on the Prize - a Proposal for the Legalization of Hacking Back
The myriad objections to legalizing hacking back all agree that an undisciplined horde of skids responding aggressively to every threat presents significant risks we would all like to avoid. Unfortunately the debate has advanced little from this well established point. I propose we continue the discussion by exploring ways in which hacking back can be legalized responsibly. To this end I argue that stopping piracy in the age of sail shared a number of the same problems we face stopping cyber attackers. This also presents a framework with which to allow responsible hacking back: that of the Admiralty Prize Courts. Prize Courts served as adjudicators to the legitimacy of capturing pirates, and held illegitimate attackers responsible for their misdeeds. This system limited who was legally allowed to attack pirates, held control over the viable targets, and controlled the incentives for pirate hunting. I will argue this is a system we can emulate to regulate hacking back.
Adam Hogan is a field security engineer for CrowdStrike. With 15 years in infosec he has worked as a SOC analyst, intrusion detection consultant and taught security classes before joining a sales team for the privilege of not having to go into the same office every day to feign interest in what his colleagues’ children did over the weekend that was just so cute. He currently lives near Columbus, Ohio. His graduate studies were in economics, which makes him a bona fide expert in ruining diner parties with statistics. @adamwhogan