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What we know so far: Private companies in the US have traditionally been allowed to defend their own networks from bad actors, but launching their own attacks against hackers has been out of the question. That's about to change. A new White House program will let vetted security firms surveil, disrupt, and even destroy overseas cybercriminal infrastructure while operating under federal authority.
President Donald Trump signed the National Security Presidential Memorandum on Wednesday. The move marks the first time the federal government has authorized private companies to conduct offensive cyber operations.
The targets will be foreign cyber-enabled transnational criminal organizations that attack US people, businesses, or government bodies. The White House highlighted ransomware, phishing, financial fraud, sextortion, and impersonation scams as examples.
