WASHINGTON -- The U.S. White House on Wednesday published a Presidential Memorandum on "Expanding Capabilities to Combat Transnational Cyber-Enabled Crime."
The Memorandum, framed in response to the growing risks related to cyber attacks, tasks the National Coordination Center with creating and managing a program that allows private, American "Participating Companies" to combat certain cyber threats originating abroad: to "conduct Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations against foreign Cyber-Enabled Transnational Criminal Organizations (CE-TCOs), under the control and oversight of the Federal Government."
The category "Participating Companies" is defined as: "private United States companies that have been accepted into the Program and will be authorized to conduct cyber operations under the direction of the United States Government."
The new program will be overseen by co-directors from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These co-directors will authorize relevant cyber operations undertaken on behalf of the federal government.
Participating Companies will be required to enter into contractual obligations with the DoJ and the DHS, for which they will undergo vetting.
Operating procedures are to be established in advance within 60 days of the Memorandum by the co-directors in coordination with the Homeland Security Council.
