US government plans legal assault on foreign hackers

US Justice Department officials plan to bring criminal charges against hackers, governments, and companies involved in nation-sponsored computer intrusions on US companies, according to a published report.

More than 100 prosecutors are being trained to participate in the new initiative, which is being organized by a little-noticed program known as the national security cyber specialist network. Prosecutors plan to work with agents in the FBI to find additional cases to bring. Prosecutors could possibly call on investigators in the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, and other agencies for additional help.

"Whether it is a state-owned enterprise or a state-supported enterprise in China – if you can figure out and prove that they've committed the crime, charging the company means they can't do business in the US, or in Europe," John Carlin, the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the US Department of Justice's national security division said. "It affects their reputation and that then causes them to recalculate: 'Hey, is this worth it?'"

Even governments could be in the line of fire, he said. Carlin cited the 2011 charges brought against Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of that country's Revolutionary Guard, for his claimed part in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US, as an example of how prosecutions could be handled.

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