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Chairman’s Corner

As we rapidly move through 2017, the world continues to be rocked by terrorist attacks on the physical side, and hacking intrusions and ransomware demands are coming from all directions on the cyber side. There doesn’t appear to be any relief in sight. We have a new U.S. president as well as new leaders over the government’s role in critical infrastructure protection, with many positions yet to be filled. While uncertainty prevails in many aspects of security and safety, we can be certain that InfraGard — through you our members—will increase our nation’s efforts toward resiliency.

We are deep in planning for the 2017 InfraGard/ASIS Conference in Dallas, Texas, from September 24-28, with exciting keynotes, informative presentations and plans for a Texas-style BBQ InfraGard Night! We have chosen the theme “Turning Risk into Resiliency” to guide our conference education and training sessions. Stay tuned for details as they unwind. We are looking for member presentations, so let us know if you have a dynamic solution to present. Go to www.infragardmembers.org to submit a proposal.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and recognize our departed INMA Board members, Jeff Gaynor (President), Bill Davis and Kimberly Pratt (Secretary) for their loyal service and commitment to InfraGard!

I would also like to welcome our three newly appointed Board members: Alain Espinosa (North Texas IMA), Chuck Georgo (Maryland IMA) and Ivan Wolkind (Los Angeles IMA). In addition, I am happy to announce the election of new Officers to serve the remaining 2016-17 term: Maureen O’Connell – President, Paul Sand – Vice President and Frederick Ferrer – Secretary. I am excited about the skill set of this new team and the opportunities ahead.

As most of you know by now, Kelly Woods-Vaughn, our Executive Director for the last 5 years, decided to move on to a new chapter in her life. We are very grateful for her service and wish her all the best!

We were fortunate to have among us a person capable to step into Kelly’s shoes and hit the road running. The Board selected Kimberly Pratt (a Board member and Secretary) to be the next Executive Director (see her message).

This edition of our magazine highlights:

The topical issue of state-sponsored hacking, hardly a new phenomenon but increasing in its severity and potential risk, and best practices in cybersecurity.

InfraGard’s new Healthcare Cyber Information sharing platform, which even in its infancy has produced significant results!

The new National Legal Industry SIG, to help counter an emerging trend of risks targeting that industry.

It is important that we continue the mission of InfraGard in the protection and resilience of our critical infrastructure. I encourage you to continue your activities with InfraGard and to stay involved.

Thanks for all you do and all you have done, as we make 2017 our best year ever!

Regards,

Gary Gardner