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 Dakota State Partners with FBI to Start InfraGard Chapter in South Dakota Dakota State University hosted an informational and recruitment meeting of InfraGard in Madison on May 20. InfraGard is a national information sharing program between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the public and private sectors. About 50 members and potential members representing the banking industry, law enforcement, government and academia attended the meeting on the campus of DSU. Information technology systems in both the private and public sectors are becoming increasingly interconnected. This has created a critical infrastructure which, while beneficial to business and industry, has created vulnerabilities. An attack on the nation’s infrastructure could produce effects that would be debilitating for national security, economic stability or public health. InfraGard’s aim is to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure. FBI Special Agent Kyle Loven led the meeting at DSU. Agent Loven is an InfraGard Program Manager from the Minnesota division of the FBI. "InfraGard was started in 1996 because the FBI wanted to be proactive in joining with the private sector and academia to get their hands around concerns such as cyber crime and potential terrorist events before they became major issues." Loven, who has been with the FBI for 9 years, said that InfraGard encourages the open flow of information between the FBI and the private sector and encourages an exchange of information between like minded entities. InfraGard chapters are linked geographically by the FBI Field Office territories with Special Agents dedicated to address chapter needs. Chapters hold regular meetings to discuss issues, threats and other topics that affect national security. Experts from public and private agencies and law enforcement are also invited to attend chapter meetings. "InfraGard creates a public and private alliance," said Loven. "It gives system owners and operators a chance to communicate with colleagues and it improves the dissemination of security information from the FBI to InfraGard members." InfraGard has 79 chapters nationwide. South Dakota has enough members to form an official chapter and will be recognized at the national meeting of InfraGard in Washington, D.C. in June.
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