Cybersecurity Policy Report, House Bill Would Codify White House Plan to Enlist Private-Sector Hackers, (Oct 16, 2026)
A presidential directive that seeks to recruit private-sector entities to conduct offensive cyber operations against overseas cyber criminals would be codified under legislation introduced by Rep. Pat Fallon (R., Texas).
The National Coordination Center and Commercial Cyber Capabilities Coordination Act (H.R. 10777, 119th Cong. (2026)) would codify two recent directives issued by the White House, including a national security presidential memorandum (NSPM) that sought the private sector’s assistance combating transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), Rep. Fallon said yesterday in a news release.
The NSPM, issued in August, created a program within the Homeland Security Task Force’s National Coordination Center (NCC) to enlist vetted U.S. companies to engage in cyber attacks and cyber surveillance against overseas (TCOs).
The NSPM requires all private-sector cyber operations to be conducted “in accordance with the Constitution and all other applicable laws and international obligations of the United States,” including the main U.S. antihacking law, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CPR, Aug. 13).
“We must ensure that the NCC can leverage America’s private sector excellence and employ the latest technology to take out cyber adversaries as quickly as possible and significantly expand our cyber-digital defense industrial base,” Rep. Fallon said.
Rep. Fallon’s bill would also codify an executive order issued in March that established an interagency group dedicated to identifying and dismantling TCOs that engage in ransomware attacks and cyber-enabled financial fraud on U.S. targets (CPR, March 9).
Rep. Fallon said the bill would ensure that the NCC, which is run by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, “continues to aggressively go after cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations using all available law enforcement capabilities.”
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