In an era where nation-state adversaries like China and Russia are weaponizing AI to supercharge their hacking operations—think Salt Typhoon’s telecom infiltrations or Volt Typhoon’s critical infrastructure probes—the FBI is rightly doubling down on “defensive AI” to stay ahead. As Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman emphasized at Palo Alto Networks’ Public Sector Ignite event last month, these AI systems aren’t just tools; they’re force multipliers. They automate threat detection, predict adversary movements based on historical patterns, and free up agents for the high-stakes analysis that manual log-sifting can’t touch. But as Leatherman noted, scaling this tech demands a tech-literate workforce, robust human collaboration, and defenses that plug every gap—including the insidious one posed by insiders.
Enter TMPC Inc., a veteran- and minority-owned small business that’s been at the forefront of federal cybersecurity for over a decade. Specializing in Insider Threat and User Activity Monitoring (UAM), TMPC isn’t chasing buzzwords; they’re building the layered defenses that make AI sing. With a recent bid protest filed against the FBI’s $18M Insider Threat Analytical Support contract—signaling their deep commitment to this space—TMPC is poised to integrate seamlessly with the Bureau’s AI expansion. Here’s how TMPC’s program would operationalize that support, turning FBI aspirations into airtight execution.
Layering UAM onto AI for Real-Time Anomaly Hunting
The FBI’s defensive AI shines in real-time network behavior analysis, flagging anomalies that scream “breach in progress.” But insiders—whether malicious leakers, careless contractors, or unwitting pawns in espionage plots—often fly under the radar because they look legitimate. That’s where TMPC’s UAM backbone comes in.
TMPC’s Insider Threat program deploys advanced monitoring across endpoints, networks, and even personal devices to capture “observable behaviors” like unusual data exfiltration or policy-skirting logins. Imagine feeding this granular data straight into the FBI’s AI pipelines: UAM spots a mid-level analyst accessing classified files at 2 a.m. from an unrecognized IP—flagged not just as anomalous but contextualized against behavioral baselines. TMPC’s proactive detection layer then assesses risk levels, from “careless error” to “potential Secret Blizzard collaborator,” enabling AI to predict escalation with eerie accuracy.
In practice, TMPC would collaborate with FBI teams to customize UAM dashboards, ensuring seamless data handoffs while maintaining chain-of-custody integrity—a non-negotiable for federal ops. No more agents drowning in raw logs; instead, AI-amplified alerts that prioritize threats tied to nation-state playbooks. For agencies like the FBI, this means scaling detection without scaling headcount, directly addressing Leatherman’s talent gap warning.
Predictive Playbooks: Forecasting Insider Risks in an Agentic AI World
Leatherman’s stark prediction? As “agentic AI” empowers mid-tier hackers with nation-state firepower, breaches will explode in scope. TMPC counters this by embedding predictive mitigation right into their program framework.
At its core, TMPC’s approach is a “Control, Monitor, Respond” triad: Develop tailored policies to deter risks upfront, monitor for red flags via UAM, and activate response playbooks to disrupt threats before they bloom. For the FBI, this translates to co-creating scenario-based models that layer TMPC’s insider behavioral data atop AI’s historical adversary tracking. Picture an algorithm forecasting how a disgruntled contractor might pivot from email phishing to lateral network movement—drawing from TMPC’s audited vendor threat intel and past insider incidents.
TMPC’s track record in federal environments ensures these playbooks aren’t theoretical. They’ve helped agencies safeguard critical infrastructure by simulating insider-enabled breaches, honing responses that integrate with FBI AI for hyper-accurate predictions. The result? Not just detection, but preemption—thwarting operations like Volt Typhoon before they leverage an internal weak link.
Bridging the Talent Chasm: TMPC as the FBI’s Force Multiplier
The FBI’s Achilles’ heel? A yawning tech talent gap, where innovators are scarce and routine tasks eat bandwidth. Leatherman’s call for “outside-the-box” thinkers who can wield AI without losing the human touch resonates deeply with TMPC’s ethos.
As an SBA-certified 8(a) minority-owned firm, TMPC brings a ready bench of cleared experts who’ve served multiple federal clients, offloading the grunt work of insider program setup. Their services include full-spectrum support: From policy drafting compliant with NIST and FISMA standards to deploying UAM tools that automate 80% of routine monitoring. FBI agents and analysts? Freed to innovate—brainstorming AI hybrids or dissecting Salt Typhoon artifacts—while TMPC handles the backend plumbing.
This isn’t replacement; it’s amplification. TMPC’s program ensures a “tech-literate workforce” by embedding training modules that upskill FBI personnel on UAM-AI synergies, fostering the bright ideas Leatherman craves. In a post-protest landscape, where TMPC’s bid underscores their FBI alignment, this partnership could deploy in months, not years.
People-First: Building Trust in the AI Age
Tech alone won’t win this cyber arms race—Leatherman nailed it: “It is people first.” TMPC echoes this with a trust-centric model that prioritizes collaboration over surveillance paranoia.
Their Insider Threat program isn’t about Big Brother tactics; it’s about creating “safe environments” where teams share intel robustly. For the FBI, TMPC would facilitate joint tabletop exercises simulating insider-AI fusion scenarios, drawing from real-world espionage cases like the recent arrest of a DoD contractor accused of foreign data leaks. These sessions build the cross-agency trust essential for rapid info-sharing, ensuring AI alerts trigger coordinated responses across silos.
In remote-hybrid worlds, where insider risks spike (as TMPC’s blogs warn), this human layer prevents isolation—key for outpacing adversaries who innovate relentlessly.
The Road Ahead: A TMPC-FBI Synergy for Unbreakable Defenses
As the FBI scales defensive AI amid escalating threats, TMPC’s Insider Threat program isn’t a bolt-on—it’s the missing link. By fusing UAM with AI anomaly detection, predictive playbooks with behavioral forecasting, talent offloads with workforce uplift, and collaborative cultures with people-first principles, TMPC enables a holistic posture that’s proactive, scalable, and unbreakable.