On March 6, the White House issued an executive order to combat cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes targeting American citizens, directing federal agencies to intensify efforts against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The order identified that activities such as ransomware, phishing, financial fraud, and extortion are often orchestrated by TCOs with foreign state support, thereby undermining financial and digital systems. The executive order directed relevant agencies to identify and suggest improvements to existing frameworks to combat TCO-enabled cybercrime. The order also directed agencies to submit an action plan proposing responses to these TCO cyber operations, which would include mechanisms to improve cybercrime information sharing across agencies. The order specifically directed the U.S. attorney general to pursue the most “serious” and “provable” cybercrimes, and the Homeland Security secretary to strengthen technical training across U.S. jurisdictions. Finally, the order directed the attorney general to recommend the establishment of a “Victims Restoration Program” to return seized funds.

The executive order coincided with the release of President Trump’s cyber strategy, which identified U.S. priorities of strengthening cyberspace leadership and combating threats and called for high-level public-private coordination. The strategy outlined six pillars where the federal government aims to: (i) deploy defensive and offensive cyber operations; (ii) streamline regulations; (iii) modernize federal information systems through zero-trust architecture, post-quantum cryptography, and cloud transition; (iv) secure critical U.S. systems and infrastructure; (v) promote secure technologies and supply chains, including for cryptocurrency and blockchain; and (vi) encourage accessible cyber training and opportunities for the current and future workforce.