We're not retreating, we're advancing!

Dear InfraGardNCR Members,

There’s a well-known quote from highly decorated WWII and Korean War veteran Oliver P. Smith that goes, “We’re not retreating, we’re just advancing in a different direction.” If you read the chapter newsletter every week (and I know you all do), then you know that our Board of Directors recently held a retreat on October 30th. It was a very productive meeting where our chapter Board members and our partners from the FBI’s Washington Field Office talked about what we will be doing in 2020 to advance the mission of InfraGard, serve the FBI, and keep our chapter moving in the right direction.

We started the day with a threat briefing from the FBI and an identification of the highest priorities for the Washington Field Office. It should come as no surprise that foreign influence, threats to critical infrastructure, domestic terrorism, and cyber crime top that list. To the maximum extent possible, in 2020 we will seek to align the efforts of our chapter with these priority areas.

In addition, we will be building on and expanding strategic partnerships. For example, using the same model as the Cyber Health Working Group and Cyber Finance Working Group, our chapter is in the process of establishing additional working groups for data center security and for the commercial facilities sector.

We are also planning to continue partnering on programming with organizations such as

GardaWorld, Allied Universal, AOBA, Panasonic, DataWatch, EPIC and others to fulfill our chapter’s mission to lead, facilitate, and engage in information sharing and relationship building to protect the nation’s (and region’s) critical infrastructure.

For the fifth year in a row, we will also be holding a cyber camp and looking to expand the number of students served and the number of partners involved.

On the communications front, the Board adopted a communications strategy in February 2019 and implementation has been ongoing. A revised newsletter launched in August 2019 and is designed to make it easier for everyone up to date with developments in InfraGardNCR. A redesign of the InfraGardNCR website is also underway, so please check it out and let us know what you think about the new look and feel. In 2020, we will be working to conduct a page-by-page review of content,

refreshing information as needed. If you have experience with newsletters, web design, outreach, etc. and would like to volunteer your time and talents, please contact us and let us know – we are seeking more help in this area.

These are just a few of many exciting things that will be happening in 2020. We will be starting the New Year with our annual members meeting in January. I don’t want to give away what’s planned for the meeting, but I will give you a hint – it will involve a case study of one of the most extensive, complex, and costly air disaster investigations in U.S. history. Watch the newsletter for more information and register early, because this event will fill up fast.

As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at sbieber@infragardncr.org. Thank you for your membership in InfraGard and for working to keep our country and infrastructure safe.

With best regards,

Steve