White House cyber plan leaves private companies’ incentives unresolved
The Justice Department’s new fraud chief gathered top prosecutors from across the South last month to promote recent cases under the administration’s new enforcement effort, the Journal reported. The U.S. attorney for northern Mississippi cited a former federal employee convicted of plundering a pandemic-era loan program for distressed small businesses.
The defendant had been caught in 2022 and had already served the prison sentence when the case was presented as an example of how the new effort was unfolding. The episode came as the Justice Department’s fraud initiative faced questions about whether the cases being publicized were newly developed.
The Journal also reported that JPMorgan Chase ended its banking relationship with prediction market Polymarket last October over regulatory concerns, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank still maintains some ties to Polymarket and other prediction-market companies, the report said.
The move adds to disputes in Washington over debanking and to nationwide scrutiny of prediction-market business practices. The report did not describe the remaining ties between JPMorgan Chase and the companies.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security finalized a rule easing export controls on a range of drones and related components, according to Risk Journal’s Anwar Faruqi. In a notice published Friday in the Federal Register, BIS said the rule eliminates wind-gust tolerance as a control parameter and removes national-security licensing requirements for drones with capabilities lasting under three hours.
Drones capable of flying at least 300 kilometers and larger drones remain classified separately and controlled for export. Drones meeting the new thresholds can be exported without a license to most destinations, except sanctioned or embargoed countries and certain prohibited end users.
The notice said, “UAVs not ‘specially designed’ for a military use with an endurance of three hours or greater will continue to be controlled.”
The White House is also asking cybersecurity companies to take on a potentially dangerous new role by attacking foreign cybercriminals. A presidential memorandum issued Wednesday directed the Justice Department and Homeland Security to establish a voluntary program allowing U.S. companies to conduct offensive hacking operations under federal supervision.
The memorandum requires federal vetting, operational oversight and steep financial penalties for rule violations. It does not specify whether the government will pay participating companies or reimburse their operational costs, leaving unanswered what benefits companies would receive for taking on the work.
“Putting intelligence closer to operational action increases the pressure on everyone involved,” said Chris Jacob of security analytics company Securonix.
The Journal report said senior Trump administration officials have also increased economic pressure on Iran, making lower oil prices a top war aim and promising unprecedented financial sanctions intended to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran attacked two United Arab Emirates ships in the strait late Thursday, Emirati officials said. Analysts said Iran was signaling that it would not relent under additional sanctions and would continue keeping the strait closed until energy prices forced the United States to back off.
The report said President Trump appeared reluctant to return to a shooting war and was relying more on the Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports as financial pressure on Tehran. James Rundle and Angus Loten reported separately for Risk Journal on the cyber program.
MSI previously reported on internal strife and stalled investigations affecting the Justice Department’s new fraud division in its Aug. 14 report.