Flash Report: U.S. Directive to Withdraw from Global Cybersecurity Organizations

Key Findings

• On January 7, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organizations, including several global cybersecurity entities.
• This memorandum aligns with the Trump administration’s broader and ongoing review of U.S. participation in all international intergovernmental organizations, conventions, and treaties.
• There is a roughly even chance that reduced U.S. participation in international cybersecurity and digital policy efforts will affect information-sharing, coordination on standards, and the alignment of U.S. law and policy with evolving multinational cybersecurity frameworks.

Details

On January 7, 2026, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organizations, including several global cybersecurity efforts.¹ These cybersecurity entities are an integral part of international collaboration frameworks on policy alignment and capacity development for the digital landscape. The United States will reportedly withdraw from the following cybersecurity and digital policy international bodies:²

• Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), which supports issues with critical infrastructure protection, cybercrime, cyber skills and policy, and emerging technology;
• European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), which supports its members—including countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—against cyber threats; and
• Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), which works towards advancing internet freedom and protecting human rights online.

A fact sheet issued by the White House about the withdrawal states that the 66 organizations—which also include entities focused on climate change, democracy promotion, and gender equality—“operate contrary to U.S. national interests, security, economic prosperity, or sovereignty.”³ However, cybersecurity experts have reportedly expressed concerns regarding the cyber-related withdrawals, especially in light of the increasing volume and severity of cyber threats.⁴

The signing of this Presidential Memorandum aligns with the Trump administration’s broader and ongoing review of U.S. participation in all international intergovernmental organizations, conventions, and treaties stemming from an executive order issued on February 4, 2025.⁵ Additional similar withdrawals are likely within the year, as the administration continues its reviews.

The Trump administration has demonstrated a mistrust of the utility and efficacy of multilateral organizations, especially those considered unaligned with the administration’s “America First” agenda and other political ideologies. However, despite the directive to withdraw from the international organizations listed above, the U.S. government has taken other efforts to demonstrate its commitment to cybersecurity, as exemplified by proposed December 2025 legislation to pursue specific threat actors.⁶ This likely signals the Trump administration is interested in operating individually rather than as part of multinational collectives.

The United Kingdom has taken a similar interest in focusing its internal political efforts towards individual implementation of cybersecurity law—likely in response to the series of prominent European-based retail cyberattacks in the first half of 2025.⁷ According to media reports on January 11, 2026, the United Kingdom is investing GBP 210 million (approximately USD 281 million) to establish a new Government Cyber Unit to centralize risk management and coordinate cyber incident responses.⁸

While the U.S. withdrawal from international cybersecurity and digital policy bodies does not, in itself, indicate a lack of engagement with cybersecurity issues, it likely signals potential disruptions to multinational collaboration mechanisms. There is a roughly even chance that reduced participation in these coordinated efforts will affect information-sharing, coordination on standards, and the alignment of U.S. law and policy with evolving multinational cybersecurity frameworks.

Scope Note

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1. hXXps://www.whitehouse[.]gov/fact-sheets/2026/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-withdraws-the-united-states-from-international-organizations-that-are-contrary-to-the-interests-of-the-united-states/
2. hXXps://cyberscoop[.]com/trump-pulls-us-out-of-international-cyber-orgs/
3. hXXps://www.whitehouse[.]gov/fact-sheets/2026/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-withdraws-the-united-states-from-international-organizations-that-are-contrary-to-the-interests-of-the-united-states/
4. hXXps://cyberscoop[.]com/trump-pulls-us-out-of-international-cyber-orgs/
5. hXXps://www.whitehouse[.]gov/presidential-actions/2026/01/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-international-organizations-conventions-and-treaties-that-are-contrary-to-the-interests-of-the-united-states/
6.  /intelligence/flash-report-proposed-u-s-legislation-to-sanction-threat-actors/
7.  /intelligence/flash-report-series-of-uk-cyberattacks-inspires-new-cybersecurity-law/
8. hXXps://unn[.]ua/en/news/uk-establishes-government-cyber-unit-to-protect-against-large-scale-cyberattacks-szr