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Big Brother Expands Its Spy Networks to the Private Sector
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by Polly Mann, W A M M
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The Internet offers a variety of “how to” opportunities. One such example is “InfraGard.” While I haven’t yet applied for membership in the group, it appears that I could learn detective skills and at the same time make a connection with a branch of government in the business of making the country secure.
A friend urged me to check it out. So I did. It is an “information sharing and analysis effort serving the interests and combining the knowledge base of a wide range of members.” It’s not just another do-good organization. It’s official—“a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the private sector,” also described as “an association of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence.” For what purpose? That’s easy—“to prevent hostile acts against the United States.” Evidently, there’s been some question about InfraGard members using weapons in their dedication because on January 15, 2008 a top FBI official denied that the agency had given permission to InfraGard members to kill in the event of martial law.
It appears that 350 of our nation’s Fortune 500 corporations have a representative in InfraGard. Before joining you are asked to read the InfraGard Code of Ethics and browse their Policies and Procedures. You may register for membership online, where you will find the following: “Along with your InfraGard membership comes great responsibility.
“You will be a representative of the nation’s largest volunteer organization dedicated to critical infrastructure protection.”
There are state chapters. The purpose of the InfraGard Minnesota Members Alliance (IMnMA) is “to increase the security of the United States national infrastructures located in the state of Minnesota through ongoing exchanges of information relevant to infrastructure protection and through education, outreach, and similar efforts to increase awareness of infrastructure protection issues.” There are officers and an executive committee and 19 pages of by-laws.
There is a link to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the public and private sectors. Established in 2003 to protect the nation's Internet infrastructure, US-CERT coordinates defense against and responses to cyber attacks across the nation. There is a “partnership” with IST, a Forsythe Company, which tells of a “premier security conference in the Upper Midwest on May 13th and 14th at the St. Paul River Centre.
Learning to spy is not too expensive, either. The cost is $199 if you registered early. |
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© 2008 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete June 2008 Index - click here
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