,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ejjj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ae1 #bjbf,mr4 ,lee introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,president of the ,united ,states to issue cyber letters of marque and reprisal1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,cyber ,letters of ,marque and ,reprisal ,act4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents for this ,act is as follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents4,sec4 #b4 ,findings4,sec4 #c4 ,purpose4,sec4 #d4 ,definitions4,sec4 #e4 ,issuance of letters of marque and reprisal4,sec4 #f4 ,reciprocal invocation of letters of marque and reprisal4,sec4 #g4 ,requirements and qualifications4,sec4 #h4 ,protection from liability4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,clause #aa of section #h of article ,i of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states grants ,congress-- 7,a7 the power to grant ,letters of ,marque and ,reprisal to punish1 deter1 and prevent acts of aggression and depredation and other malign acts committed by foreigners against ,americans through cyber-enabled means2 and 7,b7 the authority to make ,rules concerning ,captures on ,land and ,water4 7#b7 ,digital assets have become a core component of the global financial system and are used daily by millions of ,americans for payments1 savings1 remittances1 and commerce4 7#c7 ,americans are losing billions of dollars annually to crypto-enabled scams1 fraud1 ransomware1 hacking1 and theft4 ,seniors and other vulnerable populations are disproportionately harmed1 with many victims losing life savings through schemes that exploit the speed1 scale1 and cross-border nature of digital assets4 7#d7 ,cybercriminal organizations1 transnational criminal networks1 and state-aligned actors increasingly rely on digital assets to steal1 launder1 and move funds at global scale1 financing ransomware attacks1 sanctions evasion1 weapons proliferation1 terrorism1 and other threats to ,united ,states national security4 7#e7 ,digital asset financial crime is unfolding at machine speed4 ,funds can be stolen1 laundered1 and cashed out globally within hours1 far outpacing traditional compliance and enforcement frameworks4 #c4 ,purpose ,the purposes of this ,act are-- 7#a7 to authorize the ,president to issue cyber letters of marque and reprisal to commission private persons and entities to conduct limited cyberspace operations2 7#b7 to deter and disrupt real-world and cyber command and control structures and cyber operations against the ,united ,states1 entities within the ,united ,states1 or persons within the ,united ,states2 7#c7 to deter and disrupt cyberthreats1 provide for compensation for successful private action modeled upon historic privateering on the high seas1 and modernize such ancient tactics to deter modern threats2 7#d7 to facilitate the return of stolen funds to ,american victims of cyber-enabled crime2 and 7#e7 to empower the private sector to protect victims1 disrupt illicit networks in real time1 and ensure that lawful digital asset innovation can continue to grow safely4 #d4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,cyber letter of marque and reprisal ,the term cyber letter of marque and reprisal means a ,federal commission authorizing a private entity to conduct specified cyber operations against designated targets in accordance with the conditions and restrictions imposed by the ,president pursuant to section #g4 7#b7 ,cyber operation ,the term cyber operation means actions conducted in cyberspace1 including-- 7,a7 cyber exploration1 including intelligence collection2 7,b7 data recovery2 7,c7 information operations2 7,d7 asset seizure 7including digital assets and cryptocurrency72 7,e7 disruption of malicious infrastructure2 7,f7 actions in support of government operations or other entities operating under a letter of marque2 7,g7 combating cybercrimes2 and 7,h7 other proactive actions intended to disrupt1 degrade1 deny1 or destroy information systems or networks belonging or affiliated with designated cyberthreats4 7#c7 ,cybercrime ,the term cybercrime includes any offense described in section #ajbh1 #ajbh;,a1 #ajbi1 #ajcj1 or #acdc of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,designated cyberthreat ,the term designated cyberthreat means a foreign individual1 group1 or entity identified by the ,president as-- 7,a7 responsible for1 or a sponsor of1 cyberattacks against ,united ,states persons or assets owned or controlled by ,united ,states persons2 and 7,b7 listed in a public registry in accordance with applicable law4 #e4 ,issuance of letters of marque and reprisal 7a7 ,authority of the ,president ,the ,president1 or a senior official designated by the ,president in accordance with section #cja of title #c1 ,united ,states ,code1 is authorized to commission1 under officially issued letters of marque and reprisal1 as many privately equipped persons and entities as the ,president determines may be required1 with suitable instructions to such persons or to the leaders of such entities to employ all means reasonably necessary to conduct cyber operations to disrupt1 degrade1 seize1 and repatriate the assets1 property1 or infrastructure located outside of the geographic boundaries of the ,united ,states and its territories1 of a designated cyberthreat4 7b7 ,security bonds 7#a7 ,requirement ,the ,president may not issue a letter of marque and reprisal without requiring the recipient to post a security bond in an amount the ,president determines to be sufficient to ensure the execution of such letter in accordance with its terms and conditions4 7#b7 ,forfeiture ,if the recipient of a letter of marque and reprisal violates the terms of such letter1 the recipient shall forfeit part or all of the posted bond1 in accordance with the terms of such letter4 7c7 ,restriction ,any person or entity receiving a cyber letter of marque and reprisal may not knowingly conduct any operations relating to such letter against any ,united ,states citizen or entity4 7d7 ,recordkeeping requirement ,any person or entity receiving a cyber letter of marque or reprisal shall keep a log of all activities conducted and assets seized pursuant to such letter for a period of not less than #e years4 7e7 ,recovered assets ,in issuing cyber letters of marque and reprisal1 the ,president may require up to #ae percent of the total assets recovered by each holder of a cyber letter be forfeited to the ,united ,states to fund a bounty program to sustain future cyber letter of marque and reprisal operations4 7f7 ,bounties 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,president is authorized to use funds recovered through cyber operations to establish bounties claimable by holders of cyber letters of marque and reprisal4 7#b7 ,assistance ,a person or entity without a cyber letter of marque and reprisal may recover up to #e percent of the total assets recovered from a designated cyberthreat as a reward for providing information leading to such recovery4 7#c7 ,disposition of funds ,any funds recovered through cyber operations that are not expended pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 shall be deposited into the ,crime ,victims ,fund established under section #adjb of the ,victims of ,crime ,act 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaja74 7g7 ,limited offensive operations ,holders of cyber letters of marque and reprisal are authorized to conduct limited offensive cyber operations1 including the use of malware and other offensive tools targeting digital infrastructure 7including hardware and software to conduct cyber operations7 to the extent necessary to carry out such cyber operations4 #f4 ,reciprocal invocation of letters of marque and reprisal ,if ,congress authorizes the use of traditional letters of marque and reprisal for activities at sea1 on land1 in air1 or in space1 a holder of a cyber letter of marque and reprisal shall be authorized to conduct operations at sea1 on land1 in air1 or in space to the extent permitted by the ,president under section #g4 #g4 ,requirements and qualifications ,the ,president1 to the extent reasonably necessary1 may issue guidance for-- 7#a7 the requirements and qualifications required to receive a cyber letter of marque and reprisal under section #e2 and 7#b7 the extent to which a holder of a cyber letter of marque and reprisal may conduct operations at sea1 on land1 in air1 or in space pursuant to section #f4 #h4 ,protection from liability ,no cause of action shall lie or be maintained in any court against the holder of a letter of marque and reprisal for any act of such holder that is expressly authorized by such letter4