Bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. lawmakers to allow U.S. citizens to claim accountability from foreign governments for cyber attacks

On Monday (March 8), Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) of Texas and his bipartisan colleagues introduced the Homeland and Cyber Threats Act (HACT Act). The bill would allow Americans to bring claims in federal or state court against foreign governments that launch or participate in cyberattacks against the United States.

“Cyber attacks against American citizens are only going to increase, and Congress should provide American citizens with the tools they need to fight back against these foreign attacks.” Rep. Allred said. “The purpose of this legislation is to give Americans the ability to hold foreign governments accountable for damage caused by cyberattacks.”

The legislation would remove immunity for foreign nationals, including foreign officials, employees or agents, when they are sought in U.S. courts for damages involving personal injury, damage to reputation, or property damage resulting from cyberattacks.

“As we continue to respond to an increasing number of cyberattacks, it is Time for an important update to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to ensure we are accountable for attacks on Americans by foreign countries and their agents.” said Republican U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), who co-sponsored the bill.

Also cosponsoring the bill are Republican U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Democratic U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Andy Kim (D-CA). Andy Kim (D-NJ).

Last week, Microsoft Corp. said its e-mail server was hacked by Chinese government-backed Hackers. White House officials said about 30,000 U.S. users were affected by the attack, and about 250,000 worldwide. Chinese Communist authorities deny the allegations. CNN reported Sunday that the Biden administration will establish a multi-agency task force to address the growing number of cyber attacks. The agency, known as the Unified Coordination Group, is a multi-agency effort initiated by the National Security Council, which includes the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), among others.