Trump Hack-Back Memo: Not a License for Vigilantes, Crypto Lawyers Say

The memo's significance lies less in any new authority than in the legal clarity it may supply: crypto firms, which absorb constant state-linked intrusions and often hesitate to respond for fear of liability, could gain a defined perimeter for defensive action. The lawyers' caveat that it is tightly supervised is the real signal—this is a framework for sanctioned defense, not a mandate for retaliation. Whether that perimeter proves workable in practice, and how it interacts with existing cyber and sanctions rules, is the open question worth tracking.