Strategies that could protect businesses from computer hackers raise unanswered legal questions, adjunct Professor Harvey Rishikof said in a Wall Street Journal article published on June 3 (subscription required).

Companies seeking to gain the upper hand in the battle against cybertheft are exploring technological tactics like “beaconing,” which entails the insertion of code into a company’s data that – when stolen – can signal back where the information is being stored, the article noted.

Such tactics raise potential legal issues, said Rishikof, who teaches National Security Law and co-chairs the American Bar Association Cybersecurity Legal Task Force.

Noting that existing law features “gray area,” Rishikof said that beyond beaconing, tactics potentially could include putting something on a company’s data that would perform a more aggressive action if the information was taken.

The task force Rishikof is co-chairing is expected to release a report on outstanding legal issues associated with beaconing this summer.