Inside Cybersecurity

October 21, 2025

Daily News

Former DOJ cyber official details considerations for ‘hack back’ tactics, in Aspen Digital series

By Sara Friedman / October 20, 2025

John Carlin, a former senior Justice Department official, discusses considerations for different “hack back” techniques in a posting from an Aspen Digital project exploring the parameters of offensive cyber operations.

“A hack back is a type of cyber response that incorporates a counterattack designed to proactively engage with, disable, or collect evidence about an attacker. Although hack backs can take on various forms, they are -- by definition -- not passive defensive measures,” Carlin writes in an Oct. 9...


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