Policy · 45 days ago
On August 12, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum that lets vetted U.S. private companies conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks, under Justice Department and Homeland Security oversight. The program is aimed at transnational criminal organizations behind ransomware, phishing, and sextortion.
The memo separates the work into surveillance operations, which mean breaking into a target’s systems to collect intelligence, and cyber effects operations, which mean disrupting, denying, degrading, or destroying systems or data. Both need written approval, and participating companies must post at least $1 million in escrow, so this is not ordinary defense work; it is government-directed intrusion with legal and escalation consequences attached.
For firms that opt in, the exposure sits beyond their own networks: they are no longer only protecting customers, they are taking part in state-backed operations that can trigger foreign retaliation and compliance scrutiny.
6 sources covering this story
Risky Bulletin: US will let private companies carry out offensive cyber ops
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A bold new strategy or a dangerous precedent? Experts are divided on Trump's memo.
A controversial new presidential memorandum aims to enlist private sector companies in federal hacking operations against cybercriminals, dividing cybersecurity experts over its legal, ethical, and operational risks.
White House Authorizes Private Companies to Conduct Offensive Cyber Operations
A new federal program will let vetted U.S.
White House authorizes private US companies to hack foreign criminal networks - Help Net Security
President Trump signed a memo allowing vetted private companies to run offensive cyber operations against foreign threat actors.
In a first, US will allow some private firms to carry out cyberattacks | TechCrunch
cybersecurity policy prohibiting private companies from conducting 'hack back' attacks or offensive cyber operations.
US government will let private companies hack criminal gangs
The new program, meant to aggressively disrupt costly cybercrime schemes, carries numerous legal and security risks.
Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-08-14