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.

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

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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.

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

Subscribe to Ahead of the Threat wherever you get your podcasts:

• Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ahead-of-the-threat-the-fbi-cyber-podcast/id1774312272
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7nV7uYsEK4nH87ADpooAyA
• More ways to follow us: ahead-of-the-threat.transistor.fm/subscribe

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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.

Subscribe to Ahead of the Threat wherever you get your podcasts:

• Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ahead-of-the-threat-the-fbi-cyber-podcast/id1774312272
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7nV7uYsEK4nH87ADpooAyA
• More ways to follow us: ahead-of-the-threat.transistor.fm/subscribe

And follow us on social media:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/fbicyber
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• YouTube: youtube.com/user/fbi