President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday aimed at fighting cybercrime — including fraud and extortion — directing officials to identify robust tools to combat transnational criminal organizations preying on American families, businesses and infrastructure.
The directive calls for a “comprehensive review to determine what operational, technical, diplomatic, and regulatory tools could be improved to combat transnational criminal organizations” that carry out cybercrimes and “predatory schemes,” according to the White House. It also directs administration officials to present an action plan identifying the criminal organizations behind digital offenses and to offer solutions to prevent and halt their operations.
The order comes as Trump on Friday also issued a national cyber strategy that said it would decrease regulation and increase the use of artificial intelligence in a bid to bolster US defenses. But the document contains no specific mention of adversaries like North Korea, China, or Russia that have targeted the US in recent years and does not recommended specific spending or hiring targets.
“The United States has capabilities that the rest of the world can only begin to imagine,” Trump said in the document. “Our warriors in cyberspace are working everyday to ensure that anyone who would seek to harm America will pay the steepest and most terrible price.”
Cybercrime has been on the rise as hackers shift tactics and readily adopt new technologies in a bid to stay a step ahead of authorities. Ransomware and cryptocurrencies have helped criminals attack networks and reap financial rewards without detection, spurring the creation of hacking collectives abroad that are often out of the reach of US law enforcement.
Under the order signed Friday, Trump also directed the US attorney general to prioritize prosecutions of cyber fraud and scam schemes and submit recommendations on how to establish a program that could return seized or forfeited funds. The order also instructs the secretaries of Homeland Security and State to take part in efforts to reduce cyber threats.
The White House expressed concerns about a broad range of cyber-enabled illicit activity, including phishing campaigns, sextortion schemes and financial fraud.
Trump administration officials have for months indicated that they intend to take more aggressive action against criminal and state-sponsored hackers. Trump signed an order in June designed to strengthen cybersecurity.
Photo: Photo credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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