Seasoned FBI agent Brett Leatherman shared in a LinkedIn post Monday his appointment as the bureau’s assistant director for cyber operations. Already with more than 22 years of tenure with the FBI, Leatherman served for over a year as the bureau’s cyber operations deputy assistant director previous to his promotion, according to his profile on the social media platform.
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In his new role, he will head the FBI’s cyber division and its outreach personnel and teams as they collaborate with key public and private sector partners to mitigate U.S. cyber threats. Leatherman will also develop the bureau’s local and international cybersecurity network to foster information sharing among U.S. government agencies, private industry and international organizations.
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Other FBI positions that he held previously include an 18-year stint as a supervisory special agent in charge of national cyberthreat management through joint efforts with the U.S. intelligence community, global partner organizations and private industry.
Besides his FBI work, Leatherman is also a part-time adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. He obtained a master’s degree in cybersecurity management from the university and a bachelor of arts in business administration/computer information systems from Cornerstone University.
Predecessor Joins Microsoft
Leatherman took over the FBI cyber division head position from Bryan Vorndran, who departed from the FBI in May after over 21 years of service and joined Microsoft as deputy chief information security officer.
Another FBI cyber division official, Cynthia Kaiser, also left the bureau last week to join Halcyon, a San Diego-based anti-ransomware platform provider.
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