Cyber Letters of Marque and Reprisal Act

Sponsor: Tim Burchett (Republican-TN)July 15, 2026

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Lets private companies fight cybercrime and recover stolen money for American victims.

This bill would let the President give special permission to private companies to fight cybercrime. These companies could conduct cyber operations against foreign cybercriminals, seize their assets, and help return stolen funds to American victims. It would also protect these companies from lawsuits for authorized actions.

What Would Change

Currently, private entities cannot officially conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign cyberthreats or seize their assets. Traditional law enforcement often struggles to keep up with the speed of digital asset crime. This bill would let the President authorize private companies to carry out cyber operations, including seizing assets, against foreign cybercriminals. It would also create a system for returning stolen funds to victims and rewarding those who help recover assets, with up to 15 percent funding future operations and up to 5 percent for informants.

Key Provisions

Lets the President commission private companies to conduct cyber operations against foreign cyberthreats outside the U.S.
Protects commissioned private companies from lawsuits for actions they are specifically authorized to take.
Forbids commissioned private companies from knowingly targeting any U.S. citizen or entity.
Allows commissioned private companies to use offensive cyber tools, like malware, when necessary for their operations.
Directs funds recovered through cyber operations, not used for bounties, to the Crime Victims Fund.
Requires commissioned private companies to post a security bond and keep activity logs for at least 5 years.

View on Congress.gov

HR 9697 · 119th Congress · July 15, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 9/10

Cyber Letters of Marque and Reprisal Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity