Ahead of the Threat Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 — John Hultquist
•February 18, 2026
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Why It Matters
Understanding the legal framework for cyber‑threat sharing empowers companies to collaborate with the FBI confidently, accelerating incident response and strengthening national security against increasingly sophisticated edge‑device attacks.
Key Takeaways
- •CISA 2015 provides legal shields for cyber threat sharing.
- •FBI’s Cyber Law Unit balances innovation with constitutional constraints.
- •Voluntary sharing remains protected even if CISA lapses.
- •New Routers Act targets foreign‑made edge devices for national security.
- •Pre‑breach conversations with legal counsel improve incident response.
Summary
Season two of the FBI’s Ahead of the Threat podcast opens with Assistant Director Brett Leatherman framing the agency’s dual mission: impose costs on hostile actors while safeguarding privacy and constitutional rights. The episode spotlights the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA), the role of the FBI’s Cyber Law Unit, and the emerging threat landscape, including nation‑state botnets that hijack routers and IoT devices.
Leatherman and Chief of the Cyber Law Unit Kristen Grimes explain that CISA grants a suite of protections—privilege waivers, antitrust exemptions, and trade‑secret safeguards—when private firms share indicators of compromise for cybersecurity purposes. Even if CISA lapses, the FBI retains statutory shields, such as FOIA exemptions and sector‑specific statutes like the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Bank Secrecy Act, ensuring that victim information remains confidential and is not repurposed for regulatory enforcement.
The conversation shifts to concrete examples: the Salt Typhoon telecom compromise, Operation Dying Ember’s takedown of a Russian GRU botnet, and the KV botnet linked to China’s Volt Typhoon campaign. These incidents underscore why Congress passed the Routers Act, mandating a systematic review of consumer routers and modems from adversarial nations. Grimes emphasizes that proactive, pre‑breach dialogues with CISOs, CEOs, and especially legal counsel are essential to align expectations and protect victims.
For businesses, the takeaway is clear: engage the FBI early, leverage the legal protections of CISA and related statutes, and prepare for the Routers Act’s forthcoming compliance requirements. By doing so, organizations can share threat intelligence without fear of liability, accelerate containment efforts, and help the government disrupt hostile actors before they cause further damage.
Original Description
In the first full episode for Season 2, host Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, welcomes the self-described cyberthreat hunter John Hultquist, the chief analyst of the Google Threat Intelligence Group.
In their conversation, John highlights that not being hacked is unrealistic. Creating resilience, especially in how fast you can get back online following an attack, is the best mitigation approach. AI is also discussed, with John citing how since hackers use it to infiltrate systems, organizations must use AI in any countermeasure. Brett also announces Operation Winter SHIELD, the FBI’s first-of-its-kind campaign to highlight the 10 most common ways the FBI sees companies get victimized by cyberattacks. Learn more at https://www.fbi.gov/wintershield.
The news segment also returns in Season 2, with Brett joined by special guest Kristin Grimes, an FBI unit chief in the Cyber Law Unit, discussing the effects of CISA 2015’s (maybe) reauthorization, edge device exploitation, and the White House’s executive order on AI. Joint Advisories: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/cisa-uk-ncsc-fbi-unveil-principles-combat-cyber-risks-ot
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