The FBI has promoted Brett Leatherman to Assistant Director of its Cyber Division during a pivotal time for digital threat response. Leatherman, who succeeds Bryan Vorndran, brings over two decades of experience and a reputation for operational excellence in cyber disruption, intelligence sharing, and interagency coordination.

Leatherman announced the advancement on LinkedIn, emphasizing his commitment to making malicious cyber activity “unsustainable” through disruption, intelligence sharing, and international collaboration.

The move signals continuity with the FBI’s evolving cyber strategy that emphasizes ecosystem-level disruption and strong public-private partnerships.

Why It Matters: Leatherman’s appointment indicates a sustained focus on disrupting cyber threats and strengthening overall resilience. His experience suggests ongoing collaboration between federal cyber teams and external organizations, with continued efforts in intelligence sharing, incident response, and broader threat mitigation.

• Emphasis on Disrupting Cyber Threat Ecosystems: Leatherman has talked about the need to make malicious cyber activity “unsustainable.” The idea is to go after the full support system behind cybercrime like financial channels, infrastructure providers, and communication tools. This reflects a broader shift in federal cyber strategy now focused on making it harder for threat actors to operate at all.

• Professional Background Rooted in Cyber Operations: Leatherman’s appointment follows a long tenure within the FBI, much of his career has been centered on national cybersecurity work. He started in field offices and eventually moved into leadership roles that put him at the center of major cyber operations. His background includes coordinating with intelligence agencies and running task forces focused on state-sponsored and organized criminal cyber activity.

• Building on Prior Initiatives Under Vorndran: The previous Cyber Division chief, Bryan Vorndran, led efforts to expand the FBI’s role in proactive cyber operations. That included actions like taking down ransomware infrastructure and issuing joint alerts with other agencies. Leatherman has indicated he sees value in that approach and plans to continue along a similar path.

• Ongoing Focus on Coordination and Information Sharing: In recent remarks, Leatherman noted gradual improvements in public-private collaboration and emphasized the need for ongoing engagement. He mentioned that stronger relationships are helping organizations respond more quickly to threats and prepare better defenses. His comments suggest continued support for these partnerships as part of the broader cyber response strategy.

• Combination of Operational and Academic Experience: Alongside his FBI work, Leatherman teaches at Georgetown University and has academic training in cybersecurity and information systems. This background supports his understanding of both technical and strategic dimensions of cyber policy and law enforcement.

Go Deeper -> Brett Leatherman to follow Bryan Vorndran as head of FBI Cyber Division – The Record

FBI Promotes Veteran Agent Brett Leatherman as Cyber Operations Assistant Director – ExecutiveGov