A Trump memo authorizes private security companies to conduct offensive cyberattacks against foreign hackers, a first for the US government.
The policy shift permits vetted private security firms to actively hack back at overseas cybercriminal operations, moving offensive cyber response out of exclusive government hands for the first time.
The move comes as ransomware and state-linked attacks on US companies keep rising, with government agencies unable to keep pace on their own — a gap the administration is now trying to fill with private capacity.
This creates a new commercial category — offensive cybersecurity-as-a-service — with real legal and geopolitical risk attached. Enterprise security leaders should expect new vendor offerings here, and new liability questions about who is authorized to do what, and to whom.
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