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Conflict & Security138 outlets ran this4 min read

Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational crime groups

Memorandum directs US agencies to partner with private firms for surveillance and disruption of foreign criminal networks

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
US law enforcement to target 'transnational criminal organistaions' with cyber tools

What this story says

  • The memorandum directs the Department of Homeland Security to create a programme for cyber operations against foreign criminal groups.
  • Private-sector companies will work with federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies to collect intelligence and recommend operations.
  • Participating firms must maintain a bond or escrow of at least $1 million.
  • No left-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports below.

Who covered it

Left 22%(17)Centre 55%(42)Right 23%(18)

Percentages are shares of the 77 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 61 of the 138 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

82/100

Craft

68/100

Hype

20/100

138 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 17 of the 77 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

US President Donald Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum on 12 August 2026 to expand federal law enforcement’s use of cyber tools against transnational criminal organisations. The White House said the order directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish a programme to conduct specific cyber operations that disrupt foreign criminal groups operating abroad.

The memorandum sets out a framework for private-sector companies to work with federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies to collect intelligence on these organisations. Participating firms will be required to maintain a bond or escrow of at least $1 million. The White House cited ransomware attacks and financial fraud as examples of crimes the programme aims to counter.

The memo defines cyber operations as including surveillance and what it calls "cyber effects operations", the manipulation, disruption, denial, degradation or destruction of information systems, networks or infrastructure controlled by them. The involvement of private firms in such operations has previously drawn controversy over concerns about escalation and unintended consequences, as reported by the Times of India and Channel News Asia.

What the coverage left out

None of the digests or reports from any side mentioned whether the memorandum had been publicly released in full or whether the White House had provided additional details on how the programme would be implemented. The Times of India and Channel News Asia noted that the White House and Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment, but no outlet reported on the absence of a public text or operational guidance.

No left-rated outlet ran the story, according to the reports printed below.

Tags:#USCyberSecurity#TransnationalCrime#PrivateSectorPartnership#HomelandSecurity#TrumpAdministration

Coverage settled. We checked this 26 times and stopped on 19 Aug 2026, 00:00. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, US on Aug 5, 2026. (File photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
Channel News AsiaCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

17 rated outlets

  • The 11 left-rated outlets agree that on 29 July 2026 Donald Trump signed a memorandum permitting US federal agencies to authorise private companies to conduct offensive cyber operations against transnational criminal groups. All describe the shift from previous policy, which barred private firms from such actions.
  • Nine of the digests name the Justice and Homeland Security departments as the agencies that will oversee the programme. Eight specify that the operations may include disruption, degradation or destruction of criminal IT systems. Five note that the memorandum marks the first time private firms have been formally enlisted as active participants in US cyber offensives.
  • Six digests quote no sources. The remaining five cite unnamed experts or officials; none include a statement from the White House or the companies involved. None of the digests mention the legal risks to the firms or the criteria for vetting them.

Centre

42 rated outlets

  • All six centre-rated digests and reports led on the signing of the memorandum and the creation of a framework for private-sector involvement. Reuters, Channel News Asia, Bloomberg, Devdiscourse, WTVB and The Mighty 790 KFGO each carried the $1 million bond requirement and the role of the Department of Homeland Security in overseeing the programme.
  • Channel News Asia and Reuters quoted the White House’s description of the programme as leveraging private-sector innovation under government direction. Channel News Asia’s report included the memo’s definition of "cyber effects operations" and noted past controversies over private-sector involvement in cyber operations.

Right

18 rated outlets

  • The two right-rated reports, the Times of India’s full article and The Straits Times’ digest, led on the expansion of cyber tools for law enforcement. The Times of India’s headline described the targets as "transnational criminal organistaions" and quoted the memo’s definition of cyber effects operations, including the potential for "destruction of information systems".
  • The Times of India’s report also noted that the programme would be overseen by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. The Straits Times’ digest mentioned the framework for private-sector collaboration with government agencies but did not include the $1 million bond requirement.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational…?
Of the 77 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 22% are rated left, 55% are rated centre, 23% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 138. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational… left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 77 rated outlets on this story, 22% are rated left, 55% are rated centre, 23% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational… biased?
Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational crime groups is one event reported by 138 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational…?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Trump signs order to expand cyber operations against transnational…?
138 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What does the memorandum allow private companies to do?
The memorandum directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish a programme for private-sector companies to conduct cyber surveillance and disruption operations against transnational criminal organisations. These operations can include manipulation, disruption or destruction of information systems, as defined in the memo. The companies must work under federal government supervision.
How much must participating companies put up as a bond?
The memorandum requires participating private-sector companies to maintain a bond or escrow of at least $1 million. This requirement was reported by Reuters, Channel News Asia, Bloomberg and the Times of India, among others.
Which agencies will oversee the programme?
The programme will be overseen by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, as stated in the memorandum. This detail was included in reports by the Times of India and Channel News Asia.
Did any left-rated outlet cover the story?
No left-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports printed below. The coverage was limited to centre-rated and right-rated outlets, with no reports from outlets classified as left.

Read it at the source

140 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

17
Show 9 more

Centre

43
Show 35 more

Right

18
Show 10 more

Not rated

62
Show 54 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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