Maybe They've Been Reading “Neuromancer”?

News: High-tech vigilantes face legal threat
In the U.S., firms are increasingly
using hacking tools to attack the
systems of hackers. Thirty-two
percent of Fortune 500 companies
have installed counter-offensive
software, according to a survey by
security consultancy WarRoom
Research. Tactics include launching
Trojan horse attacks to damage and
disable a hacker's computer, and
automated scripts that can erase an
attacker's hard drive or hijack e-mail.

However, Sommer pointed out that
such measures could cause
companies to break the law. "There
is no clear line between cyber defense
and attack," he said. If a company
launches a counter-attack after
detecting a hacker, it could inflict
damage on a third party--because
hackers often launch attacks via other
companies' systems. This raises
issues of legal liability for any
damage caused, though the law in
this area is still unclear.
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