1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act . 2. Congressional findings Congress finds the following: (1) Cyber fraud and related cyber-enabled crimes pose a severe threat to the national security and economic vitality of the United States. (2) As a result of the unique nature of cybercrime, it is very difficult for law enforcement to respond to and prosecute cybercrime in a timely manner, leading to the existing low level of deterrence and a rapidly growing threat. In 2015, the Department of Justice prosecuted only 153 cases of computer fraud. Congress determines that this status quo is unacceptable and that if left unchecked, the trend in cybercrime will only continue to deteriorate. (3) Cybercriminals have developed new tactics for monetizing the proceeds of their criminal acts, making it likely that the criminal activity will be further incentivized in the absence of reforms to current law allowing for new cyber tools and deterrence methods for defenders. (4) When a citizen or United States business is victimized as the result of such crime, the first recourse should be to report the crime to law enforcement and seek to improve defensive measures. (5) Congress also acknowledges that many cyberattacks could be prevented through improved cyber defensive practices, including enhanced training, strong passwords, and routine updating and patching to computer systems. (6) Congress determines that the use of active cyber defense techniques, when properly applied, can also assist in improving defenses and deterring cybercrimes. (7) Congress also acknowledges that many private entities are increasingly concerned with stemming the growth of dark web based cyber-enabled crimes. The Department of Justice should attempt to clarify the proper protocol for entities who are engaged in active cyber defense in the dark web so that these defenders can return private property such as intellectual property and financial records gathered inadvertently. (8) Congress also recognizes that while