Hacking back

{{Short description|Hacking method}}

Hacking back is a technique to counter cybercrime by hacking the computing devices of the attacker.

The effectiveness{{Cite web |last=Kassner |first=Michael |date=2021-09-21 |title=Is hacking back effective, or does it just scratch an evolutionary itch? |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/is-hacking-back-effective-or-does-it-just-scratch-an-evolutionary-itch/ |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=TechRepublic |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123211743/https://www.techrepublic.com/article/is-hacking-back-effective-or-does-it-just-scratch-an-evolutionary-itch/ |archive-date=2022-11-23 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |last=Nachreiner |first=Corey |date=2022-01-28 |title=The pros and cons of the proposed hack back bill |url=https://www.scmagazine.com/perspective/policy/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-proposed-hack-back-bill |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=SC Media |language=en |archive-date=2022-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925152002/https://www.scmagazine.com/perspective/policy/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-proposed-hack-back-bill |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Rundle |first=James |date=2021-10-18 |title=Cyber Private Eyes Go After Hackers, Without Counterattacking |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cyber-private-eyes-go-after-hackers-without-counterattacking-11634549400 |access-date=2022-09-25 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=2024-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901101859/https://www.wsj.com/articles/cyber-private-eyes-go-after-hackers-without-counterattacking-11634549400 |url-status=live }} and ethics of hacking back are disputed.{{Cite book |last1=Holzer |first1=Corey T. |last2=Lerums |first2=James E. |title=2016 IEEE Symposium on Technologies for Homeland Security (HST) |chapter=The ethics of hacking back |date=May 2016 |chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7568877 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1109/THS.2016.7568877 |isbn=978-1-5090-0770-7 |s2cid=27913483 |access-date=2022-12-23 |archive-date=2022-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929015944/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7568877/ |url-status=live }}

It is also very disputed if it is legal or not, however both participating parties can still be prosecuted for their crimes.

There was a bill proposed in 2017 to make this possible, ended consideration in 2019. In 2022 it reappeared.{{Clarify|reason=What country?|date=September 2024}}