A new White House memo signed by U.S. President Donald Trump directs the National Coordination Center (NCC) to establish a program allowing vetted private U.S. companies to conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). The program authorizes two types of operations: cyber surveillance (accessing sensitive data without authorization) and cyber effects (disrupting, denying, degrading, or destroying information systems). Targets include foreign groups conducting cyber-enabled crime against U.S. government, persons, or interests, provided they are not part of a foreign government. Companies must stop operations that exceed approved parameters, such as targeting U.S. persons or systems, and must alert the NCC, which notifies the Department of Justice.
The memo follows a March announcement outlining plans to combat cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes like ransomware, phishing, sextortion, and pig butchering scams. An accompanying fact sheet reports $20.8 billion in estimated losses to cyber-enabled crimes. The move expands the private sector’s role in offensive cyber operations but raises legal and security concerns, as existing U.S. laws prohibit private hacking without court authorization. The development parallels Germany’s draft legislation granting intelligence agencies powers to hack back and disrupt hostile networks.
Attack groups: Transnational Criminal Organizations
Malware: ransomware
Original source: thehackernews.com