Trump Signs Memo Authorising Private-Sector Offensive Operations Against Foreign Criminals

President Trump signed a national security memorandum authorising vetted private companies to conduct offensive hacking against foreign criminal syndicates. The memo reorients US cyber-crime policy by delegating government offensive action to commercial firms, a significant shift with wide implications for the public-private boundary in offensive cyber operations, civil liberties and the cybersecurity industry.

Summary

The memorandum delegates to commercial firms offensive cyber action historically conducted by government agencies. It carries wide Five Eyes and civil-liberties implications, challenges the assumption that covert offensive action is the exclusive domain of state agencies, and sharpens debates over the public-private boundary in offensive operations across allied states.

Impact

• Reorientation of US cyber-crime policy toward private-sector offensive action
• Significant civil-liberties and accountability implications
• Questions for Five Eyes allies (including Australia and NZ) on public-private offensive-cyber boundaries
• Broad implications for the cybersecurity industry and threat-intelligence firms

Sector

Government

Sources

• CyberScoop — Trump Memo on Private-Sector Offensive Hacking
• raw/digests/Cyber-Digest-2026-08-14