The U.S. Department of Justice announced a new National Security Cyber Section, called NatSec Cyber, on June 20, 2023. Located within DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD), it was created to help expand disruption campaigns and prosecutions involving nation-state threat actors, state-sponsored cybercriminals and other cyber-enabled threats to national security. DOJ described a new litigation section—not a separate department or a general-purpose cybercrime squad.
What is NatSec Cyber?
NatSec Cyber is a litigating section within DOJ’s National Security Division. DOJ announced its creation after congressional approval for the new section. Its stated purpose at launch was to increase the department’s capacity to respond to malicious cyber activity through disruption efforts and prosecutions, while strengthening collaboration within the department and with other agencies.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said the section would allow NSD to increase the scale and speed of disruption campaigns and prosecutions targeting nation-state threat actors, state-sponsored cybercriminals, associated money launderers and other cyber-enabled threats to national security. That statement describes DOJ’s intended mission at launch; it is not, by itself, evidence of particular cases or outcomes.
How is it supposed to work with other agencies?
DOJ presented NatSec Cyber as a coordinating resource, not as a replacement for existing cyber investigators and prosecutors. The June 2023 announcement named the Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the FBI Cyber Division as collaboration partners. It also said NatSec Cyber would support prosecutors in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI field offices.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Cybersecurity Law | $32.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Cybersecurity Law | $76.50 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Cybersecurity Law | $129.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GLOBAL CYBERSECURITY LAW AND DIGITAL GOVERNANCE: A Comprehensive Reference for... | $38.43 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Cybersecurity in Context: Technology, Policy, and Law | $69.50 | Buy on Amazon |
The announcement cited 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 56 FBI field offices as the offices NatSec Cyber would serve. Those are figures from DOJ’s 2023 announcement, not independently refreshed counts of the current office structure.
Olsen described the section as an organizational structure that could help NSD expand disruption campaigns and prosecutions. He also said it would put cyber-threat work on equal footing within NSD with the Counterterrorism Section and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. That is Olsen’s characterization of the section’s intended standing, rather than an independent assessment of its resources or results.
#1 Best Overall
Why did DOJ create the section?
DOJ said the launch responded to core findings in Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco’s Comprehensive Cyber Review, released in July 2022. Olsen also connected NatSec Cyber to the Biden administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, which called for disrupting and dismantling threat actors through cooperation across federal agencies. These statements explain the administration’s stated rationale and strategic context; they do not establish that the new section alone carries out that broader strategy.
What does “incubator” mean in this context?
Olsen said NatSec Cyber could act as an “incubator,” investing in the time-intensive and complex investigative work needed for early-stage cases. In practical terms, that signals an intended role in developing difficult national-security cyber matters and supporting enforcement actions. It does not mean every investigation will lead to charges, or that the section independently handles every stage of every case.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Rank #2
What is known about its results and current status?
DOJ’s 2021–2025 retrospective later included NatSec Cyber among the department’s cyber-response efforts and restated its intended goal of increasing the scale and speed of disruptions and prosecutions. The launch announcement, Olsen’s remarks and the cited retrospective do not provide a NatSec Cyber-specific count of cases, prosecutions or disruption results.
Those sources establish the section’s announcement and its inclusion in DOJ’s account of work during the 2021–2025 period. They do not independently verify NatSec Cyber’s operational status or leadership as of October 4, 2026. Its 2023 description should therefore be read as the mission DOJ stated at launch, not as a current organizational update.
Rank #3
How does NatSec Cyber differ from CCIPS and the FBI Cyber Division?
The entities have different organizational homes: NatSec Cyber is in DOJ’s National Security Division, CCIPS is in DOJ’s Criminal Division, and the Cyber Division is part of the FBI. DOJ identified CCIPS and the FBI Cyber Division as partners in the new section’s work. The launch material does not set out a complete comparison of their mandates, so it would be misleading to treat NatSec Cyber as a substitute for either organization or to draw a detailed division of responsibilities from the announcement alone.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
