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InfraGard, one of the longest running outreach associations, represents a partnership between the FBI and the private sector. Members include businesses professionals (including many law firm employees), people from academic institutions, and local participants who share their experience and expertise with the FBI to assist in crime prevention. In the recent climate of rampant cyber security issues, many in the private sector are better equipped to fight these cyber threats. So why is it important for lawyers to know about and potentially join InfraGard?
In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview FBI special agent and InfraGard coordinator Kara Sidener about the way InfraGard works and why lawyers and other law firm professionals should be interested in joining this two-way information sharing platform.
Topics include:
- The evolution of cybercrime
- The Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the private sector
- Who joins InfraGard
- How and why members are vetted
- Benefits for IT professionals trying to secure law firm networks
- Staying informed about clients’ intellectual property issues
- Proactive programming and cross-sector collaboration
- Free resource to provide info on terrorism and cyber threats
Kara Sidener is a special agent with the FBI and is currently serving as the InfraGard Coordinator for the Washington Field Office (WFO). Her 17 years with the FBI have all been in the Washington, DC area, having had assignments at WFO, FBI Headquarters, and the FBI Academy. Kara has experience in a number of areas including counterintelligence and cyber investigations, evidence response, instruction and training, and private sector outreach. Kara was a member of WFO’s Evidence Response Team and a first responder to the Pentagon on 9/11/01.