Senator raises the specter of 'hack back' once again

For years, the United States has wrestled with this question: Should a private company be able to retaliate when its targeted by a cyberattack?

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., raised the specter of “hacking back” once more on Tuesday when he argued for a more transparent process in which a private company could approach the government for permission and guidelines on retaliation.

“If [a major CEO] wanted permission to figure out how to hack back, I don’t think he’d know what agency’s door to knock on to actually give him an answer,” Whitehouse said at a Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday. The Senator asked for written responses from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence about where a private sector actor could go to get an answer on the prospect of hacking back.