April 30, 2026

Operation Winter SHIELD: What the FBI Wants Industry to Do Now

37 minutes

The FBI sees every breach. You see yours.

Adam Maddock, Section Chief of the FBI's Cyber Technical Analytics and Operations Section, and Jarrod Schlenker, Assistant Section Chief leading the FBI Cyber Division's private-sector engagement, join David Moulton to walk through Operation Winter SHIELD, the FBI's public campaign built on what investigators see repeated across hundreds and thousands of cases. Ten defenses. All of them rooted in real intrusions. Most of them still missing from too many organizations.

You'll learn:

Why SMS-based MFA is no longer enough, and what phishing-resistant authentication actually looks like in practice

How end-of-life SOHO routers and IoT devices become obfuscation infrastructure for attacks against targets that never knew they were involved

Why calling the FBI early in an incident changes what's possible, and what you lose if you wait

What the FBI means when it says industry is a "critical ally," not a passive recipient of intelligence

Why you don't need to have your act together before you call your local FBI field office, and why trying to might actually hurt the investigation

This episode is essential listening if you're: a CISO or security leader wondering what law enforcement actually needs from you, an executive who doesn't yet have a relationship with your local FBI field office, or a practitioner trying to understand which defensive investments move the needle most.

Resources:

Operation Winter SHIELD at fbi.gov

Operation Winter SHIELD One-Pager

Related Episodes:

Lessons from the Underground with Keith Mularski, former FBI special agent and Chief Global Ambassador at Qintel

Inside the Mind of State-Sponsored Cyberattackers with Lior Rochberger, Unit 42

Risk, Resilience, and Real Talk with Sam Ainscow

#Cybersecurity #CriticalInfrastructure

About Threat Vector

Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks is your premier podcast for security thought leadership. Join us as we explore pressing cybersecurity threats, robust protection strategies, and the latest industry trends.

The podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, Palo Alto Networks experts, and customers, providing crucial insights for security decision-makers.

Whether you're looking to stay ahead of the curve with innovative solutions or understand the evolving cybersecurity landscape, Threat Vector equips you with the knowledge needed to safeguard your organization.

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks enables your team to prevent successful cyberattacks with an automated approach that delivers consistent security across the cloud, network, and mobile.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠http://paloaltonetworks.com.⁠⁠

...more

View all episodes

By Palo Alto Networks and N2K Networks

4.8

3838 ratings