Episode
Lessons from an FBI veteran: AI, nation-state actors and the next wave of cyber threats with Ryan Macfarlane
- Podcast
- The Cyber Brief
- Published
- Nov 12, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 1929
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-cyber-brief-7560204/episodes/lessons-from-an-fbi-veteran-ai-nation-state-actors-and-the-next-wave-of-cyber-threats-with-ryan-macfarlane/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cyber-brief-7560204/lessons-from-an-fbi-veteran-ai-nation-state-actors-and-the-next-wave-of-cyber-threats-with-ryan-macfarlane.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Valeska and co-host Chris Kerrigan are joined by Ryan Macfarlane, the Unit Chief of Counter Terrorism, Advanced Projects Unit at the FBI, where he worked for more than 20 years. In one of his final interviews before announcing his retirement from the FBI, Ryan shares his insights on emerging cybersecurity threats, the maturation of cyber criminals' business models, the increasing use of AI to conduct and defend against cyber attacks, the rise of collaboration among threat actors, the complex dynamics of nation-state attacks, and the growing risk of physical violence spilling over from cyber incidents. Ryan, Valeska and Chris also reflect on the importance of proactive relationships between the private sector and law enforcement, the value of timely intelligence sharing, and practical actions for incident response planning. Resources from today's episode: National security at AllensWhy everyone is talking about AI safety and cybersecurityRyan's podcast recommendation: Darknet DiariesRyan's book recommendations: The 100-Year Marathon by Michael Pillsbury, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's