FBI Cyber Division

{{Short description|US Federal Bureau of Investigation division}}

{{Redirect|CyD||Cyd}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}

{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox law enforcement unit

| unit_name = Cyber Division

| image = Federal Bureau of Investigation - Cyber Division.svg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Emblem of the Cyber Division

| dates = 2002–present
({{Age|2002|0|0}} years)

| country = United States

| agency = Federal Bureau of Investigation

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| role =

| ops_juris =

| command_structure = Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch

| headquarters_label =

| headquarters = J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, D.C.

| coordinates =

| motto =

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| abbreviation = CyD{{Cite web |last=Garrity |first=Robert J. |date=2004-02-13 |title=FBI's Role in the Process of Preventing the Entry of Terrorists into the U.S. |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/fbis-role-in-the-process-of-preventing-the-entry-of-terrorists-into-the-u.s |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=FBI |language=en-us}}

| current_commander = Assistant Director Brett E. Leatherman{{cite web |title=Brett E. Leatherman |url=https://www.fbi.gov/about/leadership-and-structure |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=2022-08-16}}

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The Cyber Division (CyD) is a Federal Bureau of Investigation division which heads the national effort to investigate and prosecute internet crimes, including "cyber based terrorism, espionage, computer intrusions, and major cyber fraud." This division of the FBI uses the information it gathers during investigation to inform the public of current trends in cyber crime. It focuses around three main priorities: computer intrusion, identity theft, and cyber fraud. It was created in 2002.{{cite web|title=FBI's Ability to Address the National Security Cyber Intrusion Threat|page=2|url=https://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a1122r.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=justice.gov}}

Cyber Crime, p. 2 ([https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/cyber]) In response to billions of dollars lost in cyber-crimes, that have had devastating impact on the United States' economic and national security, the FBI created a main "Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters to "address cyber crime in a coordinated and cohesive manner." Branching out from there, specially trained cyber squads have been placed in 56 field offices across the United States, staffed with "agents and analysts who protect against computer intrusions, theft of intellectual property and personal information, child pornography and exploitation, and online fraud." Due to internet threats around the world, the FBI has developed "cyber action teams" that travel globally to help in "computer intrusion cases" and gather information that helps to identify cyber crimes that are most dangerous to our national security.

Keeping the focus not only on national security but also on threats to citizens of the United States, the FBI has long been focused on identity theft, which is a growing concern for American citizens. Since fiscal year 2008 through the middle of fiscal year 2013, the number of identity theft related crimes investigated by the Bureau across all programs have resulted in more than 1,600 convictions, $78.6 million in restitutions, $4.6 billion in recoveries, and $6.8 billion in fines.

High priority is given to investigations that involve terrorist organizations or intelligence operations sponsored by foreign governments, which FBI calls "national security cyber intrusions". The Cyber Division has primary responsibility for the FBI's efforts to counter national security–related cyber intrusions.FBI's Ability to Address the National Security Cyber Intrusion Threat, p. ii ([https://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a1122r.pdf PDF]) The Cyber Division priorities in rank order are:

:(a) cyber intrusions;

:(b) child sexual exploitation;

:(c) intellectual property rights; and

:(d) internet fraud.

FBI Cyber Division works through the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) and cyber investigative squads located in each FBI field office. Since 2008, NCIJTF is the primary American agency responsible for coordinating cyber threats investigations, and liaisons with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and National Security Agency (NSA).{{cite book |author1=Michael Kraft |author2=Edward Marks |title=U. S. Government Counterterrorism: A Guide to Who Does What |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_J8rjSQxq9YC&pg=PT173 |accessdate=28 December 2012 |date=2 February 2012 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4665-1629-8 |pages=173–174}}

A large number of cases investigated by the Cyber Division come from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), which in 2002 received about 75,000 complaints.{{update inline|date=June 2014}}

Some cases that the Cyber Division has investigated included: dismantling a ring of criminals using malware to redirect users to rogue DNS servers (Operation Ghost Click);{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/malware_110911/malware_110911 |title=FBI — International Cyber Ring That Infected Millions of Computers Dismantled |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |accessdate=2012-12-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630190146/http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/malware_110911/malware_110911 |archivedate=2012-06-30 }} taking down a botnet based on Coreflood trojan used for fraud;{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/april/botnet_041411 |title=FBI — Botnet Operation Disabled |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |accessdate=2012-12-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116152625/http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/april/botnet_041411 |archivedate=2013-01-16 }} taking down a group responsible for robbing over 2,000 ATMs at once;{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/november/atm_111609 |title=FBI — 2,100 ATMs Hit at Once |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |date=2008-11-08 |accessdate=2012-12-28}} taking down a group of about 100 involved in phishing (Operation Phish Phry);{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/october/phishphry_100709 |title=FBI — Operation 'Phish Phry' |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |date=2011-09-29 |accessdate=2012-12-28}} and taking down of the DarkMarket cyber crime forum used by criminals.{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/october/darkmarket_102008 |title=FBI — Dark Market Takedown |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |date= |accessdate=2012-12-28}}