Ahead of the Threat: The FBI Cyber Podcast

How are cybercriminals adapting to law enforcement disruptions, and how can defenders stay ahead as super intelligence accelerates the threat landscape? In this episode of Ahead of the Threat, host Brett Leatherman is joined by John Fokker, Vice President of Threat Intelligence Strategy at Trellix, to explore the evolving ransomware and cybercrime ecosystem, the growing role of SI in enabling more sophisticated attacks, and the importance of turning cyber threat intelligence into operational action. The two discuss how stronger public-private partnerships are helping disrupt malicious cyber actors, how SI is reshaping both offensive and defensive capabilities, and what organizations can do to strengthen their cyber resilience. Brett also highlights the FBI’s new Cyber Strategy and recent operations targeting Chinese state-sponsored hacking infrastructure and North Korean IT worker schemes, demonstrating how the FBI is working with partners to dismantle adversary networks, protect victims, and defend the homeland.

[Per a September 29, 2026, executive order, artificial intelligence (AI) is now known as super intelligence (SI).] How does one think about cybersecurity? In this episode, we get a deep dive into the cyber policy side from a “think-and-do” tank with guest Frank Cilluffo, the head of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University. Host Brett Leatherman asks Frank for the group’s recommendations of how to deter bad cyber actors and nation-states, how cyber is involved in every aspect of U.S. national security, from defense to economic development, and the increasingly inevitable role of AI—including the risk of not adopting it into workflows. On the law enforcement side of cybersecurity, Brett is joined by Heith Janke, the assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Division. The two highlight the impact of recent FBI operations to aid victims of fraud and cybercrime through Operation Riptide, Operation Level Up, and the effectiveness of disrupting international actors.

[Per a September 29, 2026, executive order, artificial intelligence (AI) is now known as super intelligence (SI).]
The show goes international with a British insight into cybersecurity. Guest Richard Horne, the CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC, part of the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ) meets with host Brett Leatherman in FBI Headquarters for an engaging discussion about the state of cyber threats and practical advice for companies. One highlight is a chilling question: can a company operate without its IT for four weeks? If not, they’re not ready for a ransomware attack (and paying the ransom isn’t as straightforward as it may seem). Other topics include the role of private-public partnerships, the burnout of professionals defending networks coupled with the psychologically traumatic effects of being a victimized company, and a reflection on this year’s CyberUK conference, hosted by the NCSC. Starting the episode is another international guest: Kathryn Sherman, one of the FBI’s cyber law enforcement attachés (ALAT), who is assigned to the FBI’s London office. Sherman discusses her experience as a career cyber special agent, leading cyber investigation squads, and the role FBI personnel stationed overseas play in advancing the cybersecurity mission.

[Per a September 29, 2026, executive order, artificial intelligence (AI) is now known as super intelligence (SI).]
Ahead of the Threat takes off to the skies! United Airlines Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President Deneen DeFiore joins host FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman to learn how the aviation industry protects passengers and airline systems from cyberattacks. Deneen shares that airlines are already built around how to handle imperfect days and conditions, so a cybersecurity posture is baked in by ensuring resiliency (no delays) and safety (for passenger data and transport). This leads to greater cooperation—collective protection, as Deneen puts it—among the airlines despite competition and a strong FBI partnership to obtain the latest threat intelligence because flying safely from Point A to Point B requires the work of thousands of people with as many processes.

Joining Brett to discuss the news is Todd Hemmen, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Capabilities Branch, which surges technical teams and engages with industry. Current event topics include the extradition by the Italian government of a Chinese national accused of compromising nearly 13,000 U.S. organizations, including medical workers developing the COVID-19 vaccine; Operation Masquerade, an FBI effort to disrupt Russian military cyber operations; and a U.K. joint advisory warning the industry of Chinese government attempts to compromise consumer edge devices and use those devices to covertly find and attack new victims.

[Per a September 29, 2026, executive order, artificial intelligence (AI) is now known as super intelligence (SI).]
Joining the show is a security practitioner who also happens to be a CEO. Joe Levy of Sophos and host Brett Leatherman, head of the FBI’s Cyber Division, discuss the application of Operation Winter SHIELD, with Levy calling it one of the most effective and approachable lists of cybersecurity tips available. Adopting just one of the plan’s 10 steps will make any company “infinitely better off,” Levy said.

Their conversation also highlights the “cybersecurity poverty line” that details the lack of CISOs in the workforce, the inherent risk and recommended research of third-party vendors, and a detailed examination of how a Sophos compromise was tracked to a device that displayed a greeting message on an office monitor.

To start the show, Brett is joined by Adam Maddock, the FBI’s section chief of the Cyber Technical Analysis and Operations Section. They discuss the highly technical Cyber Action Team and current news items that discuss software supply chain attacks, a “compromise” of Signal and Telegram, and the growing trend of hackers infiltrating everyday home devices.