Trump Authorizes Private Companies to Launch Offensive Cyberattacks Abroad

💻 CYBER — Washington just handed offensive hacking authority to firms with no chain of command. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Outsourcing offensive cyber to private actors removes NSA and Cyber Command's legal accountability layer. In an active war with Iran, "foreign criminal groups" is elastic language — Iranian-linked hackers blend state and criminal functions. Private firms can now strike targets US agencies can't touch legally, but with no LOAC constraints. Escalation risk is unquantifiable.