Yup. TBH I simply don't understand the logic that makes an offensive act against a non-combatants by an individual illegal, but somehow permits that same act ag

Yup. TBH I simply don't understand the logic that makes an offensive act against a non-combatants by an individual illegal, but somehow permits that same act against non-combatants by a nation state. It it is illegal for an individual to murder someone, then it should be illegal for the government to do so. If it is illegal for a programmer to infect thousands of computers of innocent people with malware, then it should be illegal for the government to do so. I have no doubt in my mind that among those 50k are many innocent people (foreign and domestic), and that among the domestic infections, I doubt the NSA could produce a warrant or other legal instrument that permits them to have caused that infection. Under what wacky laws do we actually permit such malware. And are there any provisions in those laws proscribing corrections for any offensive malware programs that cause collateral damage.