FBI Launches ‘Operation Winter SHIELD’ To Strengthen Cyber Resilience Across U.S. Industry

FBI Launches ‘Operation Winter SHIELD’ To Strengthen Cyber Resilience Across U.S. Industry

FBI Launches ‘Operation Winter SHIELD’ To Strengthen Cyber Resilience Across U.S. Industry

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fbi-launches-operation-winter-shield-strengthen-hc8ze

Publish Date: 2026-02-01 11:00:00

Source Domain: www.linkedin.com

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has unveiled Operation Winter SHIELD, a nationwide cyber resilience campaign designed to strengthen the defenses of critical infrastructure and private-sector organizations against an escalating wave of cyber threats. The initiative underscores a strategic shift in how the federal government approaches cybersecurity—positioning industry not as passive targets of cybercrime, but as active partners in identifying, confronting, and dismantling digital adversaries.

The campaign was introduced by Brett Leatherman, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, who emphasized that modern cyber defense requires close, sustained collaboration between government and the private sector.

“Industry is on the front lines of today’s cyber battlefield,” Leatherman said. “Operation Winter SHIELD recognizes that resilience depends on shared responsibility and coordinated action.”

A Strategic Response to a Growing Threat Landscape

Operation Winter SHIELD—short for Securing Homeland Infrastructure by Enhancing Layered Defense—comes amid rising concerns over ransomware attacks, nation-state intrusions, supply chain compromises, and cyber-enabled fraud targeting both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems. These attacks increasingly threaten not just corporate data, but also essential services such as energy, transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing.

The initiative aligns closely with the National Cyber Strategy and the FBI Cyber Strategy, reinforcing federal priorities around prevention, resilience, and disruption of…

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