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Trump Authorizes Private Sector Participation in Offensive Cyber Operations

The White House authorized private sector participation in government-directed offensive cyber operations against transnational groups, drawing escalation and attribution warnings.

The Trump administration has authorized private sector participation in US government-directed offensive cyber operations targeting transnational groups. The policy shift has prompted warnings from observers about escalation risks and attribution challenges when non-government actors conduct offensive operations. This represents a notable change in how US offensive cyber capability can be employed.

Infosecurity Magazine · Aug 13, 2026Policy & legal

White House Launches Pilot Program in Texas to Protect Water Infrastructure

White House launches Project Watershed 250, giving Texas water providers federal and private-sector cybersecurity resources amid rising nation-state threats to critical infrastructure.

The White House launched Project Watershed 250, a pilot program providing water providers in Texas with federal and private-sector cybersecurity resources. The initiative comes amid rising nation-state threats targeting water utilities and other critical infrastructure in the United States.

Infosecurity Magazine · 15d agoPolicy & legal

White House authorizes private US companies to hack foreign criminal networks

Trump memorandum authorizes vetted private US companies to conduct government-supervised offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks.

The National Security Presidential Memorandum signed August 12 lets vetted private companies run offensive cyber operations against transnational criminal organizations behind ransomware, phishing and sextortion, under US government oversight. The Homeland Security Task Force's National Coordination Center, led by DOJ and DHS executive directors, must give written approval for both Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations. Participating companies must post a $1 million bond or escrow, undergo annual review, and notify authorities if they unintentionally target US persons or systems.

Help Net Security · Aug 13, 2026Policy & legal

Risky Bulletin: White House lets private companies carry out offensive cyber ops

A White House memo directs DHS to create a program letting vetted private companies conduct US-government-directed offensive cyber operations against cybercrime.

A presidential memo tasks the DHS National Coordination Center with building a program, under DOJ and DHS oversight, through which private-sector companies can conduct offensive cyber operations against large-scale cybercrime organizations. Requirements include secure facilities, vetted personnel, a $1 million escrow for damages, and written approvals co-signed by DHS and DOJ executive directors. The program must launch within 60 days, around October 11, expanding a March executive order targeting scam compounds, ransomware, and other large-scale cybercrime.

Risky Business News · Aug 14, 2026Policy & legal

Is Cyber missing the Marque?

Cisco Talos analyzes the White House memorandum on private-sector participation in government-authorized offensive cyber operations.

A new White House memorandum addresses private sector participation in government-authorized offensive cyber operations. Cisco Talos's newsletter, introduced by new author Mick Baccio, explores the operational and security implications of this policy for the cybersecurity industry.

Cisco Talos · 27d agoPolicy & legal

Trump Targets Foreign Technology in New U.S. Power Grid Security Order

Trump's Executive Order 14420 declares a national emergency to restrict foreign-made bulk-power grid equipment over cyber, sabotage and supply-chain risks.

Executive Order 14420, signed August 26, declares a national emergency regarding the foreign supply of bulk-power system electric equipment to the United States. It empowers the Energy Secretary to restrict transactions with designated Covered Foreign Entities involving equipment, software, firmware, digital services, maintenance services, and remote-access capabilities. Covered equipment includes transformers, generators, inverters, RTUs, PLCs, intelligent electronic devices, and protective relays, with transmission rated 69 kV or higher in scope while local distribution is excluded. Already-installed foreign equipment may be subject to identification, isolation, monitoring, or replacement requirements, with phased compliance and pre-qualified vendor exemptions permitted.

Security Affairs · 19d agoPolicy & legal

House passes bill to equip local law enforcement with scam-fighting tools

The U.S. House passed the GUARD Act, letting local law enforcement use federal grants to investigate financial scams and trace stolen cryptocurrency.

The bipartisan GUARD Act (Reps. Zachary Nunn, Scott Fitzgerald, Josh Gottheimer) passed the House, allowing existing DOJ grant funds to be used for fraud analysts, victim-support training, blockchain tracing software, and financial-information sharing with law enforcement. It addresses scams like pig butchering, often run by transnational criminal groups overseas; Americans lost a record $11.4 billion to crypto-related fraud in 2025, including $8.6 billion in investment fraud. Senators Katie Britt and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a Senate companion in July 2025, and the House also passed a bill retroactively eliminating the 'scam tax' on stolen funds for 2021-2025 victims.

The Record · 11h agoPolicy & legal

US Authorizes Private Cyber Firms to Hack Transnational Criminal Networks

Trump signed a national security memorandum letting vetted private US cybersecurity firms run government-approved offensive cyber operations against transnational criminal organizations.

The August 13 memorandum creates a program managed by the National Coordination Center covering Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations against Cyber-Enabled Transnational Criminal Organizations, explicitly excluding entities that are parts of foreign governments. DOJ and DHS executive directors must co-approve every operation in writing, with extra authorization for operations raising laws-of-armed-conflict questions. Participating firms must pass vetting, annual evaluations and hold a $1 million bond or escrow. Operating procedures are due within 60 days, and the unresolved CFAA exemption question is addressed by requiring direct government control.

Security Affairs · Aug 14, 2026Policy & legal

Obama urges Democrats to have a ‘clear plan’ for AI safeguards

Obama urged Democrats to make AI a central agenda with a clear safeguards plan, amid Amodei's independent-evaluator safety proposal.

Speaking at a Democratic fundraising event with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former President Barack Obama said Democrats must build a clear plan and public framework on AI's economic and safety impacts once they regain the House majority, warning the fast-moving technology in private hands 'can be dangerous.' Obama has offered himself as a sounding board to AI executives, speaking with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Amodei separately outlined a 'pacing the frontier' approach including independent safety evaluators with access to leading labs and common safety standards, which Altman said OpenAI would also commit to, while Trump emphasized winning the AI race.

TechCrunch · AI · 3d agoAI policy1

Supreme Court denies Trump request to allow USPS mail ballot changes

Supreme Court denied the Trump administration's emergency request to implement USPS mail ballot changes before the 2026 midterms, calling it arbitrary and capricious.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected 7-2 the Trump administration's petition to change how the U.S. Postal Service handles mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterm elections. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the administration was unlikely to succeed, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh cited unreasonably short timelines for state election officials. The blocked executive order would have required USPS citizenship verification, barcode tracking of ballot envelopes, and DHS-compiled "State Citizenship Lists"; a whistleblower alleged a rushed effort to install three restrictive IT verification systems. Justices Alito and Thomas dissented, arguing states and organizations lacked standing.

CyberScoop · 2d agoPolicy & legal

Kids’ online safety bill faces dim prospects of passage this session despite progress

Kids Online Safety Act clears Senate committee but passage looks unlikely this session amid House-Senate deadlock over the duty-of-care provision.

KOSA advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee, but the chambers remain split on a duty-of-care provision requiring platforms to act with reasonable caution to prevent foreseeable harm, which House leadership opposes over First Amendment and negligence-lawsuit concerns. The Senate passed KOSA 91-3 last Congress before it died in the House, and the House passed its own version without the duty of care in June as part of a larger package, after stripping a state-law preemption provision. Observers say even Senate passage this year is a struggle given the short calendar, with a lame-duck window between November and January the more plausible path, and Majority Leader John Thune controlling whether a roll-call vote happens.

The Record · 24d agoPolicy & legal

Trump blacklisting of "woke" Anthropic deemed illegal by federal judge

A federal judge ruled the Trump administration's blacklisting of Anthropic, tied to its stance on autonomous warfare, illegal.

A US federal judge found the Trump administration's blacklisting of Anthropic to be unlawful. The action had targeted the AI lab after it refused to support lethal autonomous warfare and mass surveillance. The ruling is a notable check on the administration's ability to penalize AI companies over policy disagreements.

Ars Technica · AI · 19d agoAI policy1

Group of bipartisan lawmakers ask US government to ban several hack-for-hire firms

Bipartisan US lawmakers urged the Commerce Department to add hack-for-hire firms BellTroX, CyberRoot, and Appin/Sunkissed Organic Farms to the entity list.

Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Pat Harrigan asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to place three Indian firms on the entity list, which would bar US businesses from transacting with them. The letter says BellTroX, CyberRoot, and Sunkissed Organic Farms (formerly Appin) have conducted cyberattacks and targeted espionage against Americans for over a decade, allegedly at the behest of the Qatari government, and used foreign courts to censor reporting on their activities. Appin previously secured a global takedown order against Reuters that was later lifted, and has been linked to hacks of FIFA officials tied to Qatar's 2022 World Cup plans.

TechCrunch · Security · 7d agoPolicy & legal1

White House bans foreign-made equipment for power generation over cyber backdoor concerns

Trump executive order bans acquisition of foreign-made bulk-power system equipment over cyber backdoor and supply-chain concerns for US electricity infrastructure.

The White House issued an executive order declaring foreign-made bulk-power system electric equipment an "unusual and extraordinary threat," banning its acquisition or installation in the US. The order covers technology managing transmission lines rated at 69,000 volts or higher, substations, control rooms, power generating stations, reactors, and associated remotely accessible software and firmware. It follows recent cyberattacks on water utilities in at least 12 states, malicious activity targeting over 100 internet-exposed water and wastewater systems, and an NSA/FBI advisory on an AI-powered threat to operational technology. The Defense, Commerce, and Energy Departments have 120 days to create rules, identify countries warranting scrutiny, and inventory at-risk equipment.

The Record · 20d agoPolicy & legal