The Federal Trade Commission has gone to court in recent years to seize control of computers from , but the Justice Department has until now primarily sought criminal charges against spies or referred cases that lead overseas to State Department diplomats.
Henry said that the Justice Department could apply the FTC strategy against espionage and saboteurs.
Henry disclosed the plan in an interview after a speech to the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas in which he said 90 percent of attacks on U.S. companies and government agencies remain secret.
He said that secrecy has kept the general public from realizing the extent of the threat to the country, which he ranked behind only weapons of mass destruction.
Henry said officials have also been asking other national governments more about specific criminal or spy groups than they have in the past.
Now an executive with private security startup CrowdStrike, was important for government agencies and private companies alike to accept that their networks have been penetrated and to find out as much as they can about the individuals involved.
