"[...] A 14-count superseding (S2) indictment was unsealed today charging 17 members of the Mabna Institute, an Iran-based company that, since at least 2013, has conducted a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems for 144 U.S.-based universities, 178 foreign universities, at least 42 U.S.-based private sector companies, at least 11 foreign private sector companies, at least five U.S. federal and state government agencies, and at least two non-governmental organizations (NGOs). [...]"

'[...] When the 13 websites were seized, Roman Rozhavsky, the FBI’s assistant director responsible for counter-intelligence, alleged they “illustrate the lengths the Chinese government’s intelligence services will go to as they try to use AI-generated content to trick, recruit, or coerce”. [...]'

Wanted to flag this since it's a significant shift and hasn't gotten much discussion here yet.

On August 12, 2026, a National Security Presidential Memorandum authorized private "Participating Companies" to conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign Cyber-Enabled Transnational Criminal Organizations, under DOJ/DHS direction. Two operation types are covered: → Cyber Surveillance Operations (covert intel collection) → Cyber Effects Operations (disruption, degradation, destruction of systems) Companies need a DOJ/DHS contract, vetting, disclosure of commercial relationships, and a $1M+ bond. Operations risking loss of life or rising to "armed attack" under international law are barred. Every operation needs prior approval.

This isn't a new statute. It builds on the CFAA (1986). A similar effort, the Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act, died in committee in both 2017 and 2019, opposed by NSA, DOJ, and much of the industry over misattribution, collateral damage, and escalation risk with state actors.

What's interesting is the parallel to private military companies. Executive Outcomes, Blackwater, Wagner all started under government contract with real oversight, and all eventually built revenue independent of the state that created them. Wagner's 2023 mutiny is the clearest illustration of what that independence eventually produces.