The US Recruits Private Companies For Cyberattacks
My blog is not meant to post much, if anything about geopolitics, aside from the actual issues that impact IT operations. But, lately there have been a lot of these issues that I’ve been forced to cover and that Techrich has been helping clients navigate. In the latest twist from the US, the government has now officially and publicly empowered private companies for cyber warfare against what it calls “Transnational Crime” but what is the true goal and intention? — https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/donald-trump-private-companies-cyber-attack
The US already has significant influence over the internet and most of the world, and has successfully taken down networks, individuals, botnets and domains relating to anything relating to Russia, Iran or anything the US finds against its interests. So why do they really need private companies to conduct cyber warfare when the government itself is already running operations like PRISM for decades? They already have things like the CLOUD Act which gives the US government the ability to reach data that would normally be unauthorized, by declaring the data of any US company overseas as being sovereign to the US.
The Trump administration has previously vowed to give private firms a larger role in cybersecurity operations. A national cybersecurity policy released in March stated that the government would create incentives to “unleash the private sector” against foreign adversaries. These plans have faced questions from legal experts on what sort of risks companies could face as they enmesh themselves in international digital conflicts.
Remember that recently the US has threatened to invade Canada, after falsely claiming that Canada intentionally sends illegal drugs to the US. It was also the same justification for invading Venezuela. The US also has a track record of false pretexts, including the WMDs it used to falsely justify invading Iraq, that didn’t exist. Much like Venezeula, both invasions have been very healthy and profitable for the US oil industry.
My point is not to detract from the US but to be clear eyed that the authorization for cyber warfare is not likely to be limited to actual “transnational crime”, since the US already has the tools it needs via control of the internet, MLATs, PRISM and of course the ability to invade any country.
US big tech and service providers are already under scrutiny, we know they have to obey the government, including spying on its users and sharing data with the government. Now to add to the mix, we have the new obligation for private companies to conduct espionage and attacks on behalf of the US.
Do you still trust your US switches, routers and firewalls when the next firmware update could be custom made to spy on and attack your company? This is not fiction, this is now the law and US policy in full public view.
The only way to avoid this is to make sure you choose a provider like Techrich, and host yourself in locations that are actually safe to use. Generally this will mean the avoidance of all US services and products where possible. This is not whether or not you agree with the US policy, this is an on objective matter of national and organizational cybersecurity that everyone should now take seriously.
Why do you think the US is asking the private sector to openly conduct cyber warfare?
