The purpose of this executive order is to protect Americans and harden financial and digital systems against threats posed by cybercrime, fraud and predatory schemes, including the deployment of ransomware, malware, phishing, financial fraud, “sextortion” and impersonation, which are often coordinated campaigns carried out by transactional criminal organizations (TCOs). This executive order directs the secretary of state, secretary of treasury, secretary of war, attorney general and secretary of homeland security to (1) review operational, technical, diplomatic and regulatory frameworks in place to determine how each can be improved to best control TCOs; and (2) submit an action plan to the president that identifies the TCOs responsible for scam centers and cybercrime and proposed solutions to prevent, disrupt, investigate and dismantle the TCOs. The executive order directs the attorney general to prioritize prosecutions of defendants engaged in cyber-enabled fraud, including scam centers and extortion games.

Finally, the attorney general is to submit a recommendation to the president regarding the establishment of a victim restoration program, and the secretary of state is directed to engage with foreign governments to demand enforcement actions against TCOs operating within their borders and greater cooperation with U.S. law enforcement.