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1 1 (May 13, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveftf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congjressional ______ *Research Service Hacktivists and the Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Legal Considerations May 13, 2022 Since Russia's February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of nongovernmental hackers motivated by social or political objectives-so-called hacktivists-have conducted offensive cyberspace operations against Russia. Some of these groups and individuals may be responding to a February 26 tweet by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, who called for the creation of a volunteer IT Army. One scholar has cited this invitation as the first time that states have openly called for citizens and volunteers to cyberattack another state. Ukraine's volunteer IT Army-which may include hundreds of thousands of hackers from within and outside Ukraine-may be working on operational tasks identified by the Ukrainian government. This volunteer organization joins the International Legion of Ukraine as a way for foreign volunteers to participate in the conflict. However, just as participation in the International Legion might result in adverse legal consequences for volunteers who are U.S. nationals, various federal statutes might be implicated should U.S. persons join the IT Army or otherwise conduct cyberspace operations against Russian assets. This Sidebar considers potential civil and criminal liability under federal law for individuals within the United States who hack foreign governmental or nongovernmental computers. It first discusses the potential applicability of two federal statutes to alleged hostile or malicious cyber activities targeting Russia by hacktivists residing in the United States: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the Neutrality Act. It then presents several considerations for Congress as this situation evolves. Although this Sidebar generally discusses volunteers acting on Ukraine's behalf, the analysis below would also likely apply to U.S. persons acting on Russia's behalf against Ukraine. The CFAA One law potentially applicable to U.S. individuals who hack foreign computers is the CFAA, which prohibits a variety of computer-related conduct and imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations of its provisions. As potentially relevant to U.S.-based hackers targeting foreign computers, the CFAA prohibits, among other things, Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10743 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress