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Defense PolicySeptember 22, 2026· War on the Rocks

Missed the Marque: Cyber Privateers Wanted, Compensation to Be Determined

Coverage of the new White House memorandum on combating cybercrime quickly reached the privateer label. CNN called the participants “cyber privateers,” invoking the image of government-sanctioned raiders working the high seas of cyberspace, hauling in digital booty. The reality is considerably less romantic. The administration has tried to create a private offensive cyber program using an exception buried in outdated legislation, and that has shaped how the program must be constructed. For this reason and others, the proposed framework will likely not attract the talent needed to address transnational cybercrime meaningfully.Within a single month, Congress and the White House each The post Missed the Marque: Cyber Privateers Wanted, Compensation to Be Determined appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Coverage of the new White House memorandum on combating cybercrime quickly reached the privateer label. CNN called the participants “cyber privateers,” invoking the image of government-sanctioned raiders working the high seas of cyberspace, hauling in digital booty. The reality is considerably less romantic. The administration has tried to create a private offensive cyber program using an exception buried in outdated legislation, and that has shaped how the program must be constructed. For this reason and others, the proposed framework will likely not attract the talent needed to address transnational cybercrime meaningfully.Within a single month, Congress and the White House each

The post Missed the Marque: Cyber Privateers Wanted, Compensation to Be Determined appeared first on War on the Rocks.

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