Trump Memo Authorizes Private Sector Offensive Hacking Operations Against Transnational Criminal Organizations

President Trump signed a national security memorandum on Wednesday directing a National Coordination Center, jointly overseen by Justice and Homeland Security officials, to authorize vetted private companies to conduct cyber surveillance and cyber effects operations against foreign cyber-enabled transnational criminal organizations 12. Participating companies must sign contracts with DOJ or DHS, undergo vetting, and post a bond of at least $1 million forfeitable for noncompliance, and every operation requires written approval from program directors before action; those directors may not authorize operations resulting in loss of life or rising to use of force under international law 13. The memorandum builds on a March 6 executive order on cyber-enabled fraud and states the program must operate within existing law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 12. Rep. Bennie Thompson said the oversight procedures remain unclear and argued the administration should work with Congress rather than act via memorandum, while cybersecurity figures voiced mixed reactions: one former Cyber Command official called it "a perpetual motion machine for billable threats," and Veracode co-founder Chris Wysopal called it a major shift in U.S. cyber policy 23.