Presidential memorandum directs a program authorizing vetted private companies to conduct cyber surveillance operations
A presidential memorandum directs the National Coordination Center to create, manage and maintain a program authorizing vetted U.S. companies to conduct Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations against foreign cyber-enabled transnational criminal organizations, under the control and oversight of the Federal Government. Participating companies must contract with the Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security, undergo rigorous vetting, and receive written approval and direction from co-Executive Directors at those two departments before action may be taken.
What happened
The memorandum extends Executive Order 14390 of 6 March 2026, which directed federal action against cyber-enabled crime; it states that it "expands the fight against TCO-perpetrated cybercrime by incorporating the ingenuity of the private sector." EO 14390 required an action plan providing for the creation of an operational cell within the National Coordination Center — itself established under section 6(d) of Executive Order 14159 of 20 January 2025 — to coordinate federal efforts against cyber-enabled criminal activity conducted by foreign transnational criminal organizations, including by involving the private sector as appropriate, and to describe how the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security would use technical capabilities, threat intelligence and operational insights from commercial cybersecurity firms and other non-federal entities. Implementing guidance is due within 60 days, and the memorandum requires Department of Justice review of any program activity directed at a United States person.
Why it matters
Surveillance authority normally runs through agencies whose people can be named, subpoenaed and dismissed. A program that vests operational capability in vetted private companies keeps the direction federal while moving the hands outside the civil service, and the scope of who may be reached by it is set by an executive document rather than by statute.