The show is on the road! Filming on location at the annual RSAC Conference in San Francisco, hosts Bryan Vorndran and Jamil Farshchi welcome Dr. Hugh Thompson, the executive chairman of RSAC and the program coordinator of the RSAC Conference. The annual conference gathers thousands of cybersecurity officials from the private and public sector to discuss ways to thwart attacks and institute best practices. In this episode, Dr. Thompson highlights the importance of government participation, how to keep the relationships and knowledge-sharing going throughout the year, and the importance of being community-oriented to ensure effective cybersecurity postures against criminal adversaries.

Listen to Ahead of the Threat episodes, read the transcripts, and find related material at fbi.gov/aheadofthethreat.

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Are you an expert in communications? Do you need communications help? Are you ready for how to communicate to employees, the government, or your customers if a crisis happens? Many agencies believe they have it covered, but when a crisis does happen, the reality comes into focus that communications is a more nuanced and involved part of a response. Meredith Griffanti and her team do this “all day, every day.” As FTI’s senior managing director for cybersecurity and data privacy communications, Griffanti discusses her observations about the industry, common pitfalls and some changing attitudes about communications with hosts Bryan Vorndran, FBI assistant director of the Cyber Division, and Jamil Farshchi, an FBI strategic engagement advisor. Kicking off this episode’s Top Three segment with a look at current cybersecurity news, Bryan and Jamil assess the return of the LockBit ransomware group, a new tactic of “microransoms” targeting everyday users, and an FBI advisory warning people about fake FBI agents claiming to be from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). You can read the full public service announcement from IC3 at ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250418.

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Class is in session! Professor Scott Aaronson, a leading researcher in quantum computers, takes time away from his teaching at the University of Texas at Austin to give Ahead of the Threat a detailed overview of quantum theory and the applications of what a quantum computer could do—when one is invented. Though a real quantum computer remains unlikely for a few more years, its potential to unravel nearly all known encryption has led to the development of post-quantum encryption to protect sensitive data.

In the episode’s Top Three segment that highlights current cybersecurity news, hosts Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, and Jamil Farshchi, FBI strategic engagement advisor, discuss Google’s acquisition of the cloud computing company Wiz for $32 billion; the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act, and a new ransomware attack at Jaguar Land Rover.

You can read an FBI Joint Cybersecurity Advisory on Medusa Ransomware at cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa25-071a. You can also read NIST’s Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Overview at csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography.

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Paul Proctor, a Gartner analyst for 20 years, joins the show to discuss practical approaches businesses can apply to make cybersecurity more effective. Through thousands of hours of outreach, Proctor sees a broken system that can improve with better communication and partnership between executives and chief information security officers to create strategies based on “outcome-driven metrics.” One example is identifying the cost to return systems online in a specific time frame following a breach, while understanding that cutting funds to that effort jeopardizes the timeline.

Hosts Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, and Jamil Farshchi, FBI strategic engagement advisor, discuss the importance of cybersecurity 'fundamentals' and how measured approaches can lead to more success in a field more complicated than many think. Commenting on current events in the 'Top Three' segment, Vorndran and Farshchi highlight DeepSeek AI, the new updates to United HealthGroup’s breach, and new reporting requirements for critical infrastructure cyber incidents (Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, or CIRCIA).

Listen to Ahead of the Threat episodes, read the transcripts, and find related material at fbi.gov/aheadofthethreat.

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For our first episode of 2025, Charles Carmakal joins the show to discuss all things Scattered Spider. As the chief technology officer at Mandiant, Charles details a disturbing trend of compromises through seemingly unsophisticated, yet highly effective approaches, including hackers who trick organization help desks into granting them system access. Hosts Bryan Vorndran, the assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division, and Jamil Farshchi, an FBI strategic engagement advisor, discuss mitigation techniques that companies, such as Mandiant, recommend to clients. In the episode’s Top Three segment, Bryan and Jamil discuss the breaches of BeyondTrust and Data School and give an update on Salt Typhoon.

Listen to Ahead of the Threat episodes, read the transcripts, and find related material at fbi.gov/aheadofthethreat.

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For our last episode until 2025, FBI Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran and FBI Strategic Engagement Advisor Jamil Farshchi speak to Rachel Lavender, managing director of the cyber practice at Marsh McLennan. As a seasoned cyber-insurance broker, Rachel discusses the partnership between a company and a cyber-insurance service, working together to build and implement effective cybersecurity measures over time. She also highlights act-of-war clauses and the growing information the insurance industry has obtained in a short time by servicing victim clients, resulting in better coverage and recommendations. For the episode’s Top Three segment recounting recent events, Bryan and Jamil discuss the unsealing of charges against members of Scattered Spider, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s cybersecurity reporting rules, and reasonably managed encryption.

Listen to Ahead of the Threat episodes, read the transcripts, and find related material at fbi.gov/aheadofthethreat.

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This week on Ahead of the Threat, FBI Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran and FBI Strategic Engagement Advisor Jamil Farshchi speak to Wendi Whitmore, senior vice president of Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. Drawing on her experience with cyber threat intelligence and incident response, Wendi talks about the growing sophistication of the cybercriminal business model and the need to have visibility across all company networks and infrastructure. She also highlights a growing trend in which companies have a “pre-built” environment that they would potentially move towards in case of a cyberattack. At the start of the episode, Bryan and Jamil discuss trending topics like the North Korean information technology worker threat, the Blue Yonder compromise, and the latest social engineering scheme from the cybercriminal group Black Basta.

Listen to Ahead of the Threat episodes, read the transcripts, and find related material at fbi.gov/aheadofthethreat.

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On this episode of Ahead of the Threat, FBI Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran and FBI Strategic Engagement Advisor Jamil Farshchi speak to Chris Cwalina, global head of cybersecurity and privacy at Norton Rose Fulbright. Chris and his team of lawyers advise clients on how to minimize damage from sophisticated data breaches and cybersecurity incidents.

Chris reveals why many companies have a false sense of readiness and security before a breach. He also talks about fostering a security culture and the importance of having clear lines of decision-making when it comes to risk management.

At the start of the episode, Bryan and Jamil discuss trending topics like the Fortinet VPN zero-day, the extradition of the Phobos ransomware administrator, and the sentencing of U.S.-based co-conspirators behind the Bitfenix cryptocurrency exchange theft.

Listen to Ahead of the Threat episodes, read the transcripts, and find related material at fbi.gov/aheadofthethreat.

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