Trump Signs Memo Allowing Private Companies to Conduct Cyber Operations Against Criminal Organizations Under Government Guidance
U.S. President Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum authorizing federal law enforcement agencies to use cyber tools to combat transnational criminal organizations targeting Americans, and to involve the private sector.
The memorandum directs the Department of Homeland Security's National Coordination Center to establish projects to conduct specific cyber operations under the guidance of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. The projects will leverage private sector capabilities and innovations under the direction, control, and authority of the U.S. government.
Participating companies, after review, may conduct cyber surveillance and cyber effect operations targeting designated objectives, including potential manipulation, interference, denial, degradation, or destruction of information systems. Operations must strictly comply with the U.S. Constitution, laws, and applicable international agreements, and a review process must be established. Participating companies must maintain a bond or escrow of at least $1 million.
The White House emphasized that this move aims to enhance the ability to respond to transnational cyber crimes such as ransomware and financial fraud.
From a market mechanism perspective, the policy opens new government collaboration pathways for cybersecurity and defense companies, with funding potentially flowing to firms with offensive cyber capabilities and compliance frameworks. Beneficiaries will be the private vendors authorized to participate, while traditional models relying solely on government internal capabilities will be under pressure.
Source: Public Information
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The Trump administration has previously signaled a more aggressive cyber strategy, and this memorandum formally incorporates the private sector into the framework for cyber operations against transnational criminal organizations, distinguishing it from the previous model that primarily relied on government agencies, while emphasizing government oversight and legal compliance.
In terms of capital pathways, the policy introduces private innovation through limited authorization and review mechanisms, motivated by the aim to leverage the technological advantages of the U.S. private sector to rapidly enhance the efficiency of combating cross-border cyber crime, strategically expanding the scale of operations while controlling risks and liability boundaries.
Similar cases can be seen in other countries exploring public-private partnership models for cybersecurity, as well as the U.S.'s previous industry partnerships in critical infrastructure protection, currently transitioning from defensive information sharing to limited offensive support.
Structurally, this represents a regulatory change: the government is redefining the role boundaries of public and private sectors in cyber operations through the presidential memorandum, with the mechanism being to exchange strict oversight and legal frameworks for technological and scale advantages, thereby enhancing responsiveness to non-state criminal actors.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Incorporating private capabilities into the national cyber toolbox
Strict oversight in exchange for offensive scale
Criminal targets prioritized over state adversary actions