The Federal Investigation Bureau’s cyber team is one of the most profound and highly
technical investigation teams known in the cybersecurity world. The FBI takes the lead in
protecting the United States against any network intrusions and criminals who are looking to
attack critical infrastructure. The FBI’s main goal is to develop and enforce laws that deter
malicious criminals in cyberspace and deal out the consequences to these attackers. An FBI
cybersecurity agent must possess the technical skills to operate the cyber equipment as well as a
keen sense of human behavior and social science knowledge that relates to cybersecurity in order
to effectively infiltrate the minds of the hacker behind the screen. While the FBI has several
different roles in the cybersecurity field, these roles all work together to encompass the critical
areas of any mission as well as weighing in on cybersecurity policies.
CYBERPSYCHOLOGY
Cyberpsychology is the study of how humans interact with technology and the internet in
particular. The internet has a tendency to enable certain deviant behaviors that involve computer
hacking, cyber bullying, and online scams such as phishing emails, spoof websites etc. Being
terminally on the internet has the capacity to affect your mental health in a negative way. Most
often this negative impact results in cyberbullying, internet addiction, and online deviancy.
Since the 2019-2020 pandemic, life online has increased dramatically and has become a major
part of people’s lives. The National Library of Medicine reported, “The FBI stated that the
number of cybercrime complaints in between January through the end of May 2020 were nearly
the same as for the entire year of 2019” (Monteith2021). Cybercrimes have maintained their
peak since then and have only become more popular. The FBI’s role regarding the increase in
cybercrime along with people’s mental health and time spent online is to investigate the main
component which is the human factor. How the human factor is causing such a negative impact
with online behavior. An FBI cyber agent will start an investigation in cyber bullying for
example, by engaging with victims and piecing together the who, what, when, where, why, and
how. Then utilize principles and research learned from cyberpsychology to fully grasp the mind
of the attacker by categorizing them based on certain online behaviors and traits discovered.
DEVELOPING SECURITY MEASURES
The FBI is leading the fight to develop security measures against these attackers to deal
out the punishments for the deviant behavior online and implementing policies to deter people
from committing them. One method of combating online criminals is through partnerships with
private sector investigation companies. The FBI is utilizing a strategy that builds upon the
human firewall. This human firewall strategy essentially branches out and provides more than
one point to report online incidents through the Internet Cyber Crime Complaint Center or IC3.
Another goal for these partnerships is to provide education and information on the different
vulnerabilities and threats that are lurking online. As stated in a blog post on GOVCIO,
“Cybersecurity is rising as a challenge area that ‘touches every program at the FBI,’ the bureau’s
Cyber Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran told members of Congress, highlighting the need to
strengthen and evolve the FBI’s cyber workforce, collaboration tactics and capabilities to address
increasing national cyber threats” (Harris2022). The most effective defensive method to take
against the rising cybercrime is through building up the human firewall and banding together to
educate, investigate, and deter.

References
Harris, Melissa. “How FBI’S Cyber Division Will Evolve As Threats Rise.” GovCIOmedia.Com,
1 Apr. 2022,
govciomedia.com/how-fbis-cyber-division-will-evolve-as-threats-rise/#:~:text=%E2%80%9COu
r%20emphasis%20on%20disrupting%20cyber,property%20and%20commit%20ransomware%20
attacks. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Monteith, Scott, et al. “Increasing Cybercrime Since the Pandemic: Concerns for Psychiatry.”
Pmc.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 3 Mar. 2021, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7927777/. Accessed 24
Apr. 2025.
“FBI Cyber — Private Sector Engagement.” Ic3.Gov, 26 Mar. 2025,
www.ic3.gov/Outreach/PrivateSectorEngagement#:~:text=The%20FBI’s%20Cyber%20strategy
%20is,please%20utilize%20this%20form%20instead. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
“The Cyber Threat.” FBI.Gov, 26 Mar. 2025, www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber. Accessed 24 Apr.
2025.