Would it be legal for an American to hack Russian military infrastructure to aid Ukraine?

Question

I am an American citizen located in the US. Suppose I wanted to hack Russian military infrastructure and disable it in order to aid Ukraine. Would this be legal?

Answer 1

It's illegal.

18 USC 1030, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, makes it illegal to, for instance, "intentionally access a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, cause damage and loss." A "protected computer" is defined to include any computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication". This effectively includes every computer in the world that's connected to the Internet (see US v. Trotter, 478 F.3d 918 (8th Cir. 2007).

To the best of my knowledge, Congress has not added any exceptions for Russia or any other specific country.

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It's also likely to be forbidden by the laws of your state. You did not specify a state, but taking Colorado as an example, the following are crimes under C.R.S. 18-5.5-102:

(a) Accesses a computer, computer network, or computer system or any part thereof without authorization; exceeds authorized access to a computer, computer network, or computer system or any part thereof; or uses a computer, computer network, or computer system or any part thereof without authorization or in excess of authorized access; or [...]

(e) Without authorization or in excess of authorized access alters, damages, interrupts, or causes the interruption or impairment of the proper functioning of, or causes any damage to, any computer, computer network, computer system, computer software, program, application, documentation, or data contained in such computer, computer network, or computer system or any part thereof; or

(f) Causes the transmission of a computer program, software, information, code, data, or command by means of a computer, computer network, or computer system or any part thereof with the intent to cause damage to or to cause the interruption or impairment of the proper functioning of or that actually causes damage to or the interruption or impairment of the proper functioning of any computer, computer network, computer system, or part thereof [...]

Note that this applies to any target computer, and the prosecution would not have to prove that the computer was used in, or affected, interstate or foreign commerce or communication.

Other states most likely have similar laws.