WASHINGTON, DC (AUGUST 13, 2026) – The White House this week announced a new federal program authorizing vetted private cybersecurity companies to conduct offensive operations against transnational criminal organizations engaged in cyber-enabled crime, including sextortion networks that target children and adults for financial and sexual exploitation. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) welcomes this action, which reflects recommendations NCOSE proposed during a November 2025 briefing at the White House.
“Sextortion rings have operated for years with a devastating advantage: they exploit victims across borders, often out of reach and out of sight,” said Dr. Marcel van der Watt, President and CEO at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “This program starts to close that gap. An estimated 1 in 4 minors and 1 in 7 adults experience some form of sextortion. This is an urgent threat to American lives and even national security. By putting America’s private-sector cyber talent to work, under strict federal oversight, the government can move at the necessary speed and scale to disrupt sextortionist infrastructure, protecting victims before more damage is done.”
“Nine months ago, NCOSE first briefed members of several executive agencies at the White House including Homeland Security and the National Security Council on urgent concerns of transnational organized sextortion. As a part of that briefing, we urged asymmetrical tactics, including a recommendation to ‘authorize private companies to hack sextortion criminal networks, destroying extorted images and returning funds.’ Since that briefing, in March the White House issued an executive order on combatting cybercrime, including sextortion in addition to the new program launched this week.
“We additionally call on Congress to take action to prevent our online platforms from facilitating sextortion by passing the Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with a strong duty of care,” Van der Watt concluded.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
