Policy · 54 days ago
President Trump signed a national security memorandum on Aug. 12 that creates a federal program for vetted private cybersecurity firms to help conduct cyber surveillance and limited offensive operations against foreign transnational cybercrime groups. The work would run through the Justice Department or Homeland Security, with written approval and government direction before any action.
The memo says participating companies would operate under federal oversight, not as freelance “hack back” actors. In plain terms, private firms could gather threat intelligence and propose operations, but DOJ or DHS would review and authorize the package and keep the work inside a lawful investigatory or intelligence process.
For firms that might pursue these contracts, this shifts offensive capability, legal exposure, and evidence handling into a regulated government workflow. The immediate significance is less about a new defensive control than about who is now allowed to do offensive cyber work, and under whose authority.
5 sources covering this story
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Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-08-20