{"id":9625,"date":"2026-08-14T05:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9625"},"modified":"2026-08-14T05:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:06:16","slug":"cyber-privateers-trump-issues-order-allowing-us-companies-to-hack-overseas-groups-under-certain-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9625","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cyber privateers\u2019: Trump issues order allowing US companies to hack overseas groups under certain conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n The Trump administration is enlisting private companies to conduct cyberattacks on foreign cybercriminals in a major policy shift that experts say could come with legal risk for the companies.\n <\/p>\n

Read more Missed the eclipse? The next one in 2027 is \u2018the one to be at\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The move gives vetted companies a prominent role in hacking operations that have historically been the dominion of US law enforcement, spy and military agencies.\n <\/p>\n

\n Companies can use cyber tools to surveil foreign criminals and disrupt their networks under the \u201ccontrol and oversight\u201d of the new federal program, according to a memo issued Wednesday by President Donald Trump.\n <\/p>\n

\n The program\u2019s goal is to punish foreign criminal groups that cause Americans billions of dollars in annual losses. The program\u2019s remit is foreign criminal groups, not governments.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAmerican businesses\u2019 innovative capabilities have historically been underutilized in efforts to identify and disrupt criminal networks operating in cyberspace,\u201d the memo says.\n <\/p>\n

\n The US government is already doing a lot of hacking on foreign targets. The new program risks having too many cooks in the kitchen, some former officials said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe real risk is that you end up with a bunch of cyber privateers running around without any clear coordination or direction at the federal level,\u201d said Andrew Schoka, a former Army officer at US Cyber Command.\n <\/p>\n

\n Deconflicting in cyber operations \u201cis already a major challenge for federal agencies, but now you\u2019re adding in the complexity of private sector firms with a lot more capability and speed,\u201d Schoka told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n The new program could free up US government resources. Chinese government-backed hackers outnumber FBI cyber personnel 50-to-1, according to former FBI director Christopher Wray.\n <\/p>\n

Read more Who could replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cHaving private sector help to counter cyber criminals allows the US to disrupt more groups and frees up agencies like FBI and Cyber Command to focus more on countering nation states like China,\u201d said Cynthia Kaiser, a former senior FBI cyber official.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut the devil is in the details,\u201d Kaiser told CNN. \u201cBefore they sign up, companies will need more explicit information about liability protections, types of government oversight, and foreign criminal use of US infrastructure, among other concerns.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n An explosion of scams targeting every type of American in recent years has prompted some private citizens to hack back and compromise the networks of the scammers.\n <\/p>\n

\n Chris \u201cWeld Pond\u201d Wysopal, co-founder of cybersecurity firm Veracode, said the new federal program would be a more organized way of dealing with the problem. But he also worried about the potential consequences of a government-sanctioned hacking operation carried out by a private firm that goes awry. Hacking a data center in a foreign country to target scammers could, for example, inadvertently affect a hospital, he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Foreign governments may also see employees of companies participating in the new hacking program who travel abroad as legitimate targets for detention or questioning, Wysopal said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Officials from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security will oversee the new hacking group. Any program activity \u201cdirected at a United States person\u201d must undergo extra legal scrutiny, including from the Justice Department, the memo says.\n <\/p>\n

\n But Jason Kikta, a former Cyber Command official, said the new memo didn\u2019t lay out a clear process for ensuring cyber operations uphold the civil liberties of American citizens.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is no clear oversight or review process on the determinations that will be made by unnamed political appointees,\u201d Kikta said. \u201cDefenders (of the memo) will say that it still requires activity to be constrained by DOJ and DHS authorities. But this order pushes liability on to the companies.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

Read more A cosmic breadcrumb trail leads astronomers to a discovery in another galaxy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration is enlisting private companies to conduct cyberattacks on foreign cybercriminals in a major policy shift that experts say could come with legal risk for the companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Cyber privateers\u2019: Trump issues order allowing US companies to hack overseas groups under certain conditions - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9625\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Cyber privateers\u2019: Trump issues order allowing US companies to hack overseas groups under certain conditions - 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