Published: · Region: Global · Category: cyber

Trump’s ‘Cyber-PMC’ Shift Raises New Front Lines Between Code and Sovereignty

By authorizing U.S. private companies to join offensive cyber operations against foreign targets, Washington is pushing the privatization of conflict into a domain where attribution is already murky. The move blurs accountability for digital strikes and forces foreign governments, criminals and critical infrastructure operators to reassess where the next blow might come from.

The decision to let private American companies step directly into offensive cyber operations does more than tweak bureaucratic charts in Washington; it redraws where foreign adversaries think the United States’ digital battle lines run. With a new memorandum signed by Donald Trump, firms that once stayed firmly on the defensive side of the keyboard may now, under government mandate, become instruments of state power abroad. Public descriptions of the policy suggest it will initially focus on foreign transnational criminal groups that have attacked U.S. targets, aiming to mobilize private-sector talent to track, penetrate and disrupt networks behind ransomware, financial fraud and other cyber-enabled crimes. Selected companies will be allowed to…

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