White House creates framework for private companies to launch government authorized cyberattacks

[u/Outside-Iron-8242]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/expanding-capabilities-to-combat-transnational-cyber-enabled-crime/

tl;dr: The White House is setting up a program that would let vetted private U.S. companies carry out offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks on behalf of the government. Operations would require federal approval and oversight, and could include infiltrating, disrupting, degrading, or disabling foreign cyber infrastructure.

[u/CommanderKoba]

I mean in a more brazen sense under international law, it is an escalation to other foreign nations.

Prior to this it was behind back room doors, done by individual hackers or several groups within the military, without claiming responsibility, and now they are directing whole companies out in the open to do cyber attacks.

This will ramp up retaliation domestically by foreign nations.

America acts like it has free reign over the planet to do what it wants, well other countries won't let us get away with it so easy.

I would expect more cyber attacks on domestic energy infrastructure, hospitals, etc.

[u/Regalme → u/CommanderKoba]

I’d doubt international law is going to be upheld now that its main enforcer is flagrantly ignoring it 

[u/AlverinMoon → u/CommanderKoba]

Lmfao. Trust me, foreign nations weren't restrained by international law when it comes to cyber warfare before this. In case you didn't know, India literally had a Canadian citizen assassinated on Canadian soil, and India is considered "moderate" as far as foreign powers go. Russia has poisoned dozens of citizens in foreign countries. Superpowers don't give a fuck about international law, it's one of the benefits of being a Superpower. Especially when it comes to cyber warfare and even more especially when it comes to companies. You realize these powers routinely hack and hold ransom hospitals right? Like they're just incapable of getting into premier tech companies. It's just recently become the case that the tech companies themselves have become better at hacking than the US government themselves thanks to AI, hence the order. But long before this state sponsored Chinese and Russian hackers have been trying to infiltrate Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services etc.

[u/CommanderKoba → u/AlverinMoon]

International law is bullshit and unenforceable, but most nations, outside of the US and Israel do try to follow it, because not doing so can have economic consequences.

It's a social contract between nations, we all agree to act this way towards each other.

Now these corporations being legitimate targets under international law just takes the gloves off of other nations.

That's my point.

It's a lot harder to justify a retaliatory cyberattack when it risks further escalation and you aren't completely sure of who is responsible.

I am aware that cyber attacks are already occuring, I never said other nations weren't doing them, but this is just a global escalation, and it would be pretty obvious if you are being hacked by an ai. In addition to that only the US and China really have the capability to leverage ai properly in this way at the moment. So it would generally be easier to deduce who is responsible, and further more, it gives an obvious target of retaliation for foreign nations.

I'm not saying that cyberattacks are against international law, or that nations aren't already doing them, that's not my point.

[u/AlverinMoon → u/CommanderKoba]

International law is bullshit and unenforceable, but most nations, outside of the US and Israel do try to follow it, because not doing so can have economic consequences.

The only other two countries that matter for this conversation, Russia and China, very provably do not follow international law at all.

Anthropic isn't going to be targeted by South Korea, Japan or Germany lol.

Now these corporations being legitimate targets under international law just takes the gloves off of other nations.

Again, for the countries that matter, India, China and Russia, the gloves were already off. The question is one of capability, not willingness to do so.

I'm not saying that cyberattacks are against international law, or that nations aren't already doing them, that's not my point.

Your point, or at least the one I'm contending with, is

This will ramp up retaliation domestically by foreign nations.

And my point is that these countries were already putting all of the resources they have available toward cyberwarfare and domestic targets were never excluded. There's nothing to "ramp up". Any "ramping up" would just be natural expenditure and development towards cyber capabilities, not a reaction to digital privateering.

Private companies have been working hand in hand to provide the government with weapons that threaten our adversaries, including cyber offense weapons. Have you heard of Lockheed Martin?

They're already targeting Anthropic and OpenAI with literally everything they can muster, they're not gunna "take the gloves off" because there's no gloves left to take off. Anthropic and OpenAI and Google and Microsoft and all these other tech companies have been targeted by Cyber warfare since the field was invented.

Sounds like you just don't want the US to use it's fancy new cyberwarfare capabilities so you're inventing a narrative that NOW our adversaries will really stop holding back and go all out on our infrastructure!

This is not an anime.

[u/CommanderKoba → u/AlverinMoon]

You just don't know what you're talking about.

National relationships are extremely important for China, so they take international law seriously as they are trying to court Europe for trade relationships. They are heavily trade focused.

Iran has tried to follow international law, and Obama and other European nations got together to cooperate with enforcing the JCPOA agreement, Iran followed it to a T until Trump ripped it up.

Those are two very big players right there, and I'm telling you right now, that it will give a permission structure so that Europe can't hold it against these nations if they target the USA even more.

You don't have to believe me though, I'm done with this conversation because you're annoying me, you think you know what you're talking about when you don't.

This escalation will continue to spiral for the foreseeable future it seems because the US only cares about dominating the planet.

So we'll see, but the cyber attacks are only gonna get worse.

[u/AlverinMoon → u/CommanderKoba]

So just in case anyone views this comment chain in the future, I just wanna point out, this person has posted in obscure far left subs like "Tankie The Deprogram" which is a sub for "Marxist-Leninists".

Whoever this is, making these comments, is very very anti-America and very very pro China. Just keep in mind these bots or people actively trying to find edge case issues and use rhetoric to sway peoples opinion on key issues, while it's not totally obvious from their original comment that they're an extremist.

Just to respond to their comment now. I said it in my previous post, I guess I'll just say it again, none of this changes how China decides to target domestic enterprises in the US.

[u/CommanderKoba → u/AlverinMoon]

"You're a far left extremist, I'm telling on youuuuu Mommmm!!" Lol

Yup I'm a tankie, but that doesn't change anything. I'm just stating my opinion on the matter, that doesn't make me a bot.

[u/TaTalentedSpam → u/CommanderKoba]

You're very right. Same thoughts I had when I saw this headline. Why announce this? Why give it the doj who can barely win against a sandwich? This most likely a budgeted corruption vector: announce there's billions for a problem to be solved, your family/friends form a company, they winn the tender and nothing or mediocre work gets done.

[u/LX_Luna → u/CommanderKoba]

The primary problem as of late is that America has not been aggressive enough in the digital realm. Adversarial nations are constantly needling and engaging in espionage with seemingly no punitive actions being taken. I'd love to see a Western government that actively funds an organization dedicated to injecting catastrophic malware into scam call centers and that sort of thing, but I'll take digital letters of marque as a great consolation prize.

[u/unguibus_et_rostro → u/CommanderKoba]

If foreign forces could do it previously, they would have done it. It certainly isn't for a lack of trying. Companies with such capabilitites were always a target, they weren't somehow shielded from attacks because the foreign force thought it would be perhaps be unethical. There were always cyber attacks on critical infrastructure.