Hacking Back is common sense and necessary
The government is doing a poor job of protecting the citizenry, the economy and the military against foreign hackers. ADM Mike Rogers, NSA Director, opposes hacking back by using scare terms about Pandora's Box and chaos. He wants his office to retain its monopoly on offensive cyber and hacking back. Yet the citizenry feels helpless and the people are still bleeding jobs and fortunes.
Another fear of Rogers and the bureaucracy is that allowing private industry to defend citizens and companies from hacking and pursuing offenders could show up politically constrained, conflicted- priority government efforts for their lack of accomplishments, focus and effectiveness.
I can remember not too long ago, the SOPA and PIPA bills which showed that the Government priorities were protecting music and movies over protecting Industry and personal information. It was a reenactment of the Dutch purchasing Manhattan Island for $25 worth of Trinkets. In this case, it was the Government, and the then head of the NSA, that was selling the country to the Chinese for a few DVDs. Few people, and fewer news media, called them out on it then and isn't doing so now, the sponsors of this legislation excepted.
Free enterprise and private industry can always do a better job if there is a free market. What we need is a few companies to serve as Cyber Pinkertons or similar organizations. Will it have some rough spots and will make it a little uncomfortable for government civil service cyber defense groups. Yes, it will, but it will also help make people feel less helpless and provide a layer of threat and uncertainty to private hackers. Hacking won't stop until the price of hacking exceeds the returns yielded by hacking. That isn't happening now, and it is time for a change.
