#210 - Cyber Letters of Marque

<p>Cybercrime costs Americans an estimated $200 billion a year, and AI is supercharging it. The U.S. government&#39;s newest response is one of the oldest tools in the Constitution, one Congress hasn&#39;t used since the War of 1812.</p><p>This episode covers letters of marque and privateers: their role in the American Revolution, how prize courts and bonds kept privateers from becoming pirates, and the White House memo that trends toward implementing a modern version for cyberspace.</p><p><strong>Sponsors:</strong></p><p>This episode is presented by Altitude, visit altitude.xyz/law to learn more about their global payments platform.</p><p>Sponsors also include: The law firm Cahill Gordon &amp; Reindel. Cahill is hosting Confluence 2026, its flagship emerging tech conference, in New York City on September 24, 2026. You can apply to attend here: https://www.cahill.com/confluence2026.</p><p>Thank you as well to the Solana Policy Institute and the Hyperliquid Policy Center for supporting the podcast.</p><p><strong>Guests:</strong></p><ul><li>Chris Perkins (President of Franklin Crypto at Franklin Templeton, Naval Academy graduate and Marine Corps veteran)</li><li>Ari Redbord (Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs and former federal prosecutor)</li><li>Michael Coates (CISO of the Solana Foundation and previously Twitter&#39;s first CISO)</li><li>Camelia Lopez Shoemaker (Holland &amp; Knight, former DOJ)</li><li>Nelson Rosario (Rosario Tech Law)</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>(0:00) The $200 billion problem</p><p>(2:16) The Model T and the FBI</p><p>(4:18) Pig butchering</p><p>(7:03) History</p><p>(7:50) The high seas and the internet</p><p>(8:30) Marque vs. reprisal</p><p>(11:35) American Revolution</p><p>(14:08) Building a (private) navy</p><p>(17:25) The Constitution</p><p>(18:40) The Paris Declaration</p><p>(20:34) Pirates or privateers?</p><p>(22:12) The five-part system</p><p>(22:40) Why government can&#39;t scale</p><p>(23:30) The Fourth Amendment</p><p>(25:26) Suspicious Activity Reports</p><p>(28:23) Recent memorandum</p><p>(30:40) The bond</p><p>(32:34) The blockchain</p><p>(33:49) Latest from U.S. gov&#39;t</p><p>(34:56) The attribution problem</p><p>(36:30) Who&#39;s involved today?</p><p>(37:49) The Beacon Network</p><p>(39:16) Pre-clearance and due process</p><p>(41:10) Reporting cybercrime</p><p>(44:26) International law</p><p>This should be the internet&#39;s best explainer on letters of marque. You don&#39;t need to be a