Critical Infrastructure?

Infragard

Then there's Infragard. Coordinated by the FBI, it's is a fellowship of federal, state, local, industry, and academic cybercrook catchers and watchers. Infragard has about 33,000 participants in almost 90 cities around the country, and you can apply to become a member yourself. The point is to build an accessible community for the FBI to contact on any given cyber-crime problem, especially in the private sector, where IT managers and policy folk are understandably touchy about this stuff. "No governmental entity should be involved in monitoring private communications networks as part of a cybersecurity initiative," warned Gregory T. Nojeim of the Center for Democracy and Technology, speaking before that Senate hearing.

Mindful of these concerns, Infragard hangs out around the margins between government and the private sector, "to promote ongoing timely dialogue," in the FBI's own words. Its chapters work with FBI Field Offices in the same geographic area. Infragardians conference on the latest technology and hold hacking contests.

Here's the deal, as far as we can tell. You join Infraguard and become part of the FBI's information cohort. In exchange, you get the following cool stuff:

• "Network with other companies that help maintain our national infrastructure. Quick Fact: 350 of our nation's Fortune 500 have a representative in InfraGard.
• Gain access to an FBI secure communication network complete with VPN encrypted website, webmail, listservs, message boards and much more.
• Learn time-sensitive, infrastructure related security information from government sources such as Department of Homeland Security and the FBI."

Needless to say, this makes people nervous. The Progressive magazine ran an exposé about Infragard in 2008 titled "The FBI Deputizes Business." The piece suggested that the organization may have given its members authority to "shoot to kill" in national emergencies. The FBI strongly denies this. "Patently false," FBI Cyber Division director Shawn Henry called the assertion. But it's likely that civil-liberties-minded observers will continue to squint at Infragard for the foreseeable future.

-Matthew Lasar