{"id":45390,"date":"2022-02-21T04:59:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T04:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/us-to-attack-cyber-criminals-first-ask-questions-later-if-it-protects-victims\/"},"modified":"2022-02-21T04:59:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T04:59:05","slug":"us-to-attack-cyber-criminals-first-ask-questions-later-if-it-protects-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/us-to-attack-cyber-criminals-first-ask-questions-later-if-it-protects-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"US to attack cyber criminals first, ask questions later \u2013 if it protects victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has revealed new policies that may see it undertake pre-emptive action against cyber threats.<\/p>\n

Revealed last week by deputy attorney general Lisa O. Monaco, in a speech<\/a> at the Munich Cyber Security Conference, the policy will see prosecutors, agents and analysts assess “whether to use disruptive actions against cyber threats, even if they might otherwise tip the cybercriminals off and jeopardize the potential for charges and arrests.”<\/p>\n

Such actions will be undertaken if the DoJ feels that action can reduce risks for victims. Monaco mentioned “providing decryptor keys or seizing servers used to further cyberattacks” as possible interventions.<\/p>\n

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It’s the rare cyber investigation that doesn’t have an international dimension<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Monaco also wants sanctions and export controls used when appropriate \u2013 and not just those the DoJ or even the US can wield. She hopes “our international and private sector partners” can weigh in, too, and also wants DoJ people to work “at US Cyber Command and elsewhere, to achieve unity of purpose and unity of action.”<\/p>\n

The deputy attorney general added that charging and apprehending cybercriminals “will still be a priority in cybercrime cases” but that different tactics are needed “when threat actors seek safe haven in rogue countries or work on behalf of a foreign government.”<\/p>\n