Homeland Security Topics Highlight D.C. Small Business Breakfast Series

Columbia, MD and Washington, DC (PRWEB) April 17, 2006

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), like many government agencies, reaches out to the private sector for ideas and innovations to help them in achieving their mission goals. The American Small Business Coalition (The ASBC) has connected with the InfraGard National Members Alliance (INMA), an organization that personifies the FBI’s private sector reach-back. For the next four months, The ASBC and INMA will feature speakers and information associated with the Homeland Security and Critical Infrastructure-based tracks that will be presented in full at the InfraGard 2006 National Conference, taking place this August in Washington, DC.

The INMA’s mission is to provide a trusted forum for the exchange of knowledge, experience and information related to the protection of our nation’s critical infrastructure from both physical and cyber threats. The INMA has a dual-focus value proposition; It provides its members with unmatched opportunities to promote the physical and cyber security of their organizations through access to a trusted, national network of Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) from the public and private sectors; and, it provides government stakeholders, across the local, state, and federal levels, with unmatched access to the expertise and experience of critical infrastructure owners and operators.

InfraGard is an FBI program that began in the Cleveland Field Office in 1996 and each InfraGard Chapter is geographically linked with FBI Field Office territories. Each InfraGard Chapter has an FBI Special Agent Coordinator assigned to it, and the FBI Coordinator works closely with Supervisory Special Agent Program Managers in the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The first presentation will take place on May 4th at the City Club of Washington during The ASBC’s Federal Breakfast Forum, a series dedicated to connecting industry and government for focused information exchanges. The kickoff of the InfraGard series features Supervisory Special Agent Chris Dowd of the FBI’s Cyber Division, who will discuss:

The FBI’s role in cyberspace

FBI’s Cyber Division

Critical Infrastructure Protection

Sharing with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Intelligence Community

Subsequent presentations will occur on the first Thursday of June, July and August at the City Club. Pre-registration is required for each event and details can be found on The ASBC web site at http://www.theasbc.org.

The inaugural Federal Breakfast Forum took place this past March and featured Col. Mary Deutsch, USA, Commander of the Army Garrison at Fort Detrick, MD. Col. Deutsch discussed the impact of the BRAC on Fort Detrick and the role of the Garrison and Tenant Activities.

The American Small Business Coalition is a two-year old private membership organization providing education and business support to companies that do business with and in support of federal agencies and federal contractors. The ASBC’s Members include small, medium and large businesses and like-minded associations supporting the small business community. The ASBC supports government agencies with outreach and market research activities and membership to government employees and officials is provided at no charge.

The InfraGard 2006 National Conference will run from August 22-24 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC and The ASBC is one of the event sponsors. Additional information can be found at http://www.infragardconferences.com. The current tracks to be featured at the conference include:

Homeland Security

First Responders

GIS – Geographic Information Systems

Cyber Security

SCADA and Control Systems Security

Computer Forensics

Financial Industry

Regulatory Compliance

Water Security

Food and Agriculture Terrorism

Business Continuity Planning

For additional information related to The American Small Business Coalition, visit The ASBC on the web at http://www.theasbc.org.

For more information about the InfraGard National Members Alliance, please visit http://www.infragard.net.

To register for the InfraGard 2006 National Conference as an attendee or exhibitor, visit the conference website at http://www.infragardconferences.com.

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