Ahead of the Threat: The FBI Cyber Podcast

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.

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.

Microsoft joins the conversation on all things Operation Winter SHIELD, the FBI’s list of the 10 most impactful cybersecurity actions for organizations big and small. Sherrod DeGrippo, general manager of Microsoft's Global Threat Intelligence, shares why she wrote a blog post about the Bureau’s effort with host Brett Leatherman, head of FBI Cyber. The two highlight the increasing role AI plays in initiating—and stopping—cyberattacks, how experts have observed that fundamental cybersecurity steps are enough to discourage a would-be hacker, and how security teams can be even more effective when they develop a partnership with software developers.

To start the show, Ahead of the Threat goes international! Brett discusses the critical role international cyber investigators play for the FBI with program manager Maeve Healy of the Global Partnership Program. They also explore recent news topics, including Operation Lightning, an alleged ransomware negotiator who secretly worked against his company, and industry’s growing calls to include AI in its cybersecurity toolbox.

Is a breach a security problem or a business problem? For guest Amy Herzog, CISO and vice president of Amazon Web Services, "security is what you bring to customers." Amy joins the show for a wide-ranging discussion with host Brett Leatherman on Operation Winter SHIELD. The two touch on how, in reality, AI makes bad hackers mediocre hackers; the importance of log retention (first mention this season!); that the most effective way to protect your business is by doing the basics (because most hackers succeed by exploiting the basics); and finally, learn how imagining yourself as a pilot puts you on the path for cybersecurity success. 

In the show's opening, Brett is joined by the head of the FBI's Cyber Operations, Deputy Assistant Director Jason Bilnoski. They discuss the takedowns of LeakBase and Tycoon 2FAs while also wondering...if hackers use AI to infiltrate a system, should owners use AI to protect those systems?

Search no further for an engaging, practical conversation from two cybersecurity experts! Diving into the FBI’s Operation Winter SHIELD initiative, John Hammond, the principal security researcher at Huntress, (who also has a YouTube channel with 2.1+ million subscribers) joins host Brett Leatherman for a wide-ranging discussion on hacking trends, how not every user in your organization needs full rights access, and that a basic inventory of IT equipment can be the most important cybersecurity step you take!

Starting the show, Brett is joined by Michael Machtinger, the FBI’s deputy assistant director for the Cyber Intelligence Branch. After learning how the branch supports the Bureau’s cyber mission, the two discuss “slave” hackers from North Korea, CISA’s latest recommendation for end-of-life devices, and how hackers use remote proxy servers to attack within the U.S.