Trump signs order to bolster efforts to combat cybercrime

He also asked for recommendations for a programme that can return funds seized by cybercrimes. Read more at straitstimes.com.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6 aimed at fighting cybercrime – including fraud and extortion – directing officials to identify robust tools to combat transnational criminal organisations preying on American families, businesses and infrastructure.

The directive calls for a “comprehensive review to determine what operational, technical, diplomatic and regulatory tools could be improved to combat transnational criminal organisations” that carry out cybercrimes and “predatory schemes”, according to the White House.

It also directs administration officials to present an action plan identifying the criminal organisations behind digital offences and to offer solutions to prevent and halt their operations.

The order comes as Mr Trump on Friday also issued a national cyber strategy that said it would decrease regulation and increase the use of artificial intelligence in a bid to bolster US defences.

But the document contains no specific mention of adversaries like North Korea, China, or Russia that have targeted the US in recent years and does not recommended specific spending or hiring targets.

“The United States has capabilities that the rest of the world can only begin to imagine,” Mr Trump said in the document. “Our warriors in cyberspace are working everyday to ensure that anyone who would seek to harm America will pay the steepest and most terrible price.”