The US "Cyber Strategy for America 2026" document, recently released by the White House, has sparked debate within the cybersecurity community. While largely consistent with previous administrations' approaches, one particular sentence has raised eyebrows: "We will unleash the private sector by creating incentives to identify and disrupt adversary networks and scale our national capabilities." This statement is being interpreted by some as a call for 'hackback' – essentially granting private companies permission to conduct offensive cyber operations. **The Economist** also highlighted this potential shift in policy. ### The Risks of Vigilante Justice in Cyberspace Security expert **Bruce Schneier** argues that such a policy is "an incredibly dumb idea." He draws parallels to the dangers of vigilante justice, emphasizing the importance of due process and the potential for error. "In warfare, the notion of counterattack is extremely powerful... But in peacetime, we call it revenge, and consider it dangerous." Schneier continues: "Both vigilante counterattacks, and preemptive attacks, fly in the face of these rights. They punish people before who haven’t been found guilty... on the internet it’s even harder to know who’s attacking you. Just because my computer looks like the source of an attack doesn’t mean that it is." ### Echoes of the Past Schneier concludes with a historical analogy: "We don’t issue letters of marque on the high seas anymore; we shouldn’t do it in cyberspace."