As warfare becomes engineering, the era of the digital mercenary dawns
A 10th Mountain Division soldier operates a simulation of the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) loitering munition during the Combined Resolve 25-1 exercise at the Hohenfels Training Area near Hohenfels, Germany, on February 3, 2025. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
ByPatrick Tucker,
Science & Technology Editor
August 14, 2026 08:28 PM ET
The White House revives “privateering for the digital age” by authorizing cyber firms to strike foreign targets.
Private cyber firms will be allowed to take action against foreign threats under a new White House policy, another step into a future where tech developers are ever more closely entwined with military operations, which now evolve faster than governments can keep up.
Under the policy, announcedWednesday, the U.S. government will pay private cybersecurity companies to “manipulate,” “degrade,” “disrupt,” and “destroy” foreign adversary computer networks. The U.S. government historically reserves the right to take those...
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