The Cyber Threat  

The mission of FBI Cyber is to impose costs on cyber adversaries and ensure the United States’ safety, security, and confidence in a digitally connected world.

Malicious cyber activity threatens the public’s safety and our national and economic security. The FBI uses its unique authorities, world-class capabilities, and enduring partnerships to defend America’s values, ingenuity, critical infrastructure, and businesses from cyber criminals and nation-state adversaries.

The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyberattacks and intrusions. We collect and share intelligence and engage with victims while working to unmask those committing malicious cyber activities, wherever they are.

Learn more about what you can do to protect yourself from cybercriminals, how you can report cybercrime, and the Bureau's efforts in combating the evolving cyberthreat.

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A complex, global concern 

Our adversaries look to exploit gaps in our intelligence and information security networks. The FBI is committed to working with our federal counterparts, our foreign partners, and the private sector to close those gaps.

Those partnerships allow us to advance investigations, collect intelligence, disrupt malicious cyber activity, identify those responsible, and impose costs on adversaries. The FBI fosters this team approach through unique hubs where government, industry, and academia form long-term trusted relationships to combine efforts against cyber threats.

Within government, that hub is the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF). The FBI leads this task force of more than 30 co-located agencies from the Intelligence Community and law enforcement. The NCIJTF is organized around mission centers based on key cyber threat areas and led by senior executives from partner agencies. Through these mission centers, operations and intelligence are integrated for maximum impact against U.S. adversaries.

Only together can we achieve safety, security, and confidence in a digitally connected world.     

How FBI Cyber works  

FBI Cyber’s well-trained and well-positioned workforce is ready to assist after a cyber incident, both in the United States and in nearly 20 countries. We bring our partnerships, expertise, global footprint, and unique investigative and intelligence authorities to assist victims every time we respond to a cyber incident.

FBI’s service-oriented mission keeps us focused on sharing specific information and tools that can help victims mitigate cyber threats in real time. It also drives our collection of investigative and intelligence information that can help us identify new threats and warn those at risk for better resilience.

  • The FBI has specially trained cyber squads in each of our 56 field offices, working hand-in-hand with interagency task force partners.
  • The rapid-response Cyber Action Team can deploy across the country within hours to respond to major incidents.
  • With cyber assistant legal attachés in embassies across the globe, the FBI works closely with our international counterparts to seek justice for victims of malicious cyber activity.
  • The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) collects reports of Internet crime from the public. Using such complaints, the IC3’s Recovery Asset Team has assisted in freezing hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of cyber crime.
  • CyWatch is the FBI’s 24/7 operations center and watch floor, providing around-the-clock support to track incidents and communicate with field offices across the country.

Respond and report 

Contact your local FBI field office

If you need to report an ongoing crime, threat to life, or national security threat, file a report at tips.fbi.gov or by contacting your local field office.

File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

If you are the victim of a cyber-enabled crime or fraud, file a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) as soon as possible. Crime reports are used for investigative and intelligence purposes. Rapid reporting can also help support the recovery of lost funds.

Depiction of banner being used in campaign to encourage the public to report Internet crime to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Visit ic3.gov for more information, including tips and information about current crime trends.

What you should know  

Protect yourself

  • Taking the right security measures and being alert and aware when connected are key ways to prevent cyber intrusions and online crimes.
  • Learn how to protect your computer, network, and personal information.

Understand common crimes and risks online

  • Business email compromise (BEC) scams exploit the fact that so many of us rely on email to conduct business—both personal and professional—and it’s one of the most financially damaging online crimes.
  • Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information, like your Social Security number, and uses it to commit theft or fraud.
  • Ransomware is a type of malicious software, or malware, that prevents you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return.
  • Spoofing and phishing are schemes aimed at tricking you into providing sensitive information to scammers.
  • Online predators are a growing threat to young people.
  • More common crimes and scams
Cyber Business and Industry Partners

Private sector partners  

Learn how businesses and organizations can work with the FBI to get ahead of the threat and make an impact on our cyber adversaries.

Cybersafety tips 

Internet-enabled crimes and cyberintrusions are becoming increasingly sophisticated and preventing them requires each user of a connected device to be aware and on guard. 

  • Keep systems and software up to date and install a strong, reputable anti-virus program.
  • Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network.
  • Create a strong and unique passphrase for each online account.
  • Set up multi-factor authentication on all accounts that allow it.
  • Examine the email address in all correspondence and scrutinize website URLs before responding to a message or visiting a site
  • Don’t click on anything in unsolicited emails or text messages.
  • Be cautious about the information you share in online profiles and social media accounts. Sharing things like pet names, schools, and family members can give scammers the hints they need to guess your passwords or the answers to your account security questions.
  • Don't send payments to unknown people or organizations that are seeking monetary support and urge immediate action.

Cyber news  

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