Global expert services and consulting firm Berkeley Research Group (BRG) announced that former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cyber Division Senior Executive Chris Stangl has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a managing director in its Cybersecurity and Investigations practice.
Stangl, who was an FBI Special Agent for over 20 years, recently led cybersecurity strategy and operations in the agency’s Science and Technology Branch, serving in a business information security officer (BISO) role, where he assisted FBI executives in conducting risk assessments to track and identify cyber risks and implemented a cybersecurity sprint plan to protect information technology from threats. During his tenure, Stangl reinforced the security of investigative and intelligence operations across multiple FBI verticals, protecting applied science and operational technology resources through NIST Cybersecurity and Risk Management Frameworks.
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“For two decades, Chris was on the front lines protecting the American people against mounting cybersecurity threats,” said Thomas Brown, global leader of BRG’s Cybersecurity and Investigations practice. “During my time as a federal prosecutor, I worked with Chris on many significant investigations and know the invaluable experience he will bring to our growing Cybersecurity investigations practice. We couldn’t be more excited to have him on board.”
Stangl investigated a wide range of cyber cases at the FBI, including computer intrusions by cybercriminals and nation-states, counterintelligence and insider threats, intellectual property rights violations, online child exploitation, extortion, and internet fraud. The cases for which Mr. Stangl was responsible included matters involving millions of dollars of illicit funds transferred to Russia via a digital currency exchange; a cross-jurisdictional, coordinated takedown of over 70 cybercriminals associated with the “Zeus Trojan” email malware; the apprehension and conviction of the creator of “Gozi” malware; a multinational investigation into the use of stolen account information from a hacked ATM network, resulting in nine convictions and millions of dollars seized in cash and property; dismantlement of the LulzSec hacking group; and the FBI’s response to nation-state–sponsored distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on US banks’ websites—the most significant and sustained DDoS attacks against US critical infrastructure originating from a nation-state actor in history.
Stangl held leadership roles at the FBI’s New York and Newark field offices as well as FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. He served as Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge at the FBI Newark field office, leading the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Counterintelligence squads, and Cyber Task Force. He also held the position of Chief of Operations for the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, enhancing interagency information exchange and intelligence integration; and led the Cyber Division 24/7 watch, where he facilitated the FBI’s threat response activities under Presidential Policy Directive, U.S. Cyber Incident Coordination to support victims across public and private sectors, including the SolarWinds response following the supply chain attack and the Colonial Pipeline Network ransomware attack.
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Stangl earned a number of awards for distinguished government service, including the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in Outstanding Cyber Investigation in 2010 for his instrumental role in identifying and dismantling an international cybercrime organization that targeted US critical infrastructure; and again in 2011 for his leadership in an innovative investigation into a prolific cybercrime enterprise.
During his time at the FBI, Stangl emphasized partnering with the private sector by fostering shared situational awareness of the cyber threat landscape through collaboration, information exchange and intelligence sharing. In 2015, he received the Director of National Intelligence’s National Intelligence Community Award for Intelligence Integration for leadership in neutralizing a threat country through analytic, operational and outreach initiatives.
“I am thrilled to join BRG as the team continues to expand its sophisticated cybersecurity practice,” Stangl said. “I look forward to working with this talented group of professionals and leveraging my cybersecurity experience to best serve the firm’s clients.”
BRG’s Cybersecurity and Investigations group is uniquely prepared to help clients with a full range of data security, data protection and privacy challenges. The team has special expertise in cyber-incident response and helps clients forensically navigate the legal and regulatory aftermath of an incident. BRG’s cross-border, interdisciplinary team also offers vulnerability assessments, cybersecurity improvement plans, enterprise security architecture design and assistance with cyber-regulatory compliance and audits.
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