FBI Unveils Cyber Strategy as US Sanctions Xinbi
The FBI released a new cyber strategy Wednesday spelling out how the bureau combats hackers at home and abroad, on the same day the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a Chinese-language online marketplace it says underpins cyber scams targeting Americans.
Key facts
What happened: FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman announced the strategy at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington on September 9, 2026
The strategy: Five pillars, including dismantling adversary infrastructure and funds, faster victim support, private-sector planning, cyber talent, and safe AI use
The sanctions: Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, describing it as a marketplace supporting cyber scams, fraud and money laundering
Top threat: Leatherman identified China as the most significant nation-state cyber risk to U.S. national security
What's in the FBI's new cyber strategy?
Leatherman said the document serves a dual purpose: guidance for individuals and businesses, and a signal to adversaries about how the FBI runs counter-operations in cyberspace. The five pillars highlighted by the bureau: taking the fight to adversaries by dismantling their digital tools, infrastructure and funds; supporting cybercrime victims through faster information sharing; strengthening joint planning with the private sector; building the bureau's cyber talent; and educating staff on safe use of artificial intelligence, which is increasingly used to accelerate attacks.
What is Xinbi Guarantee?
According to the Treasury Department, Xinbi Guarantee is a Chinese-language platform operating a large illicit online marketplace that supports cyber scams, fraud and money laundering targeting Americans — functioning as a central node connecting criminal syndicates, including scam-centre operators, with merchants providing the financial services and technology that keep those operations running. Sanctions cut a designated entity off from the U.S. financial system and prohibit Americans from transacting with it. China has repeatedly denied accusations of state-sponsored cyber activity.
The Iran backdrop
The announcements came amid continued fallout from Iran-linked intrusions. FBI officials at the same summit said the bureau is working with allies and the private sector against cybercriminals, botnets and malware, following hacks linked to Iran that affected several U.S. water systems. The Iran-linked group Handala has claimed a string of 2026 attacks, including breaching California Water Service systems in June and publishing five gigabytes of stolen data.
Source: The National, reporting from the Billington Cybersecurity Summit.