Louis M. Reigel III is the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, a position he assumed in March 2005. Before that he was the Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division.


Q. What were the FBI’s expectations and goals in starting InfraGard?

A. Back in 1996, before InfraGard existed, the FBI’s Cleveland Office reached out to local industry with two goals: to figure out why limited computer intrusions were being reported to the FBI, and to let the community know that the FBI would investigate computer intrusions if they were reported. The Cleveland office knew that government computers were the targets of hackers, and suspected that industry was the victim of computer crime as well.

The FBI’s Cleveland office invited local computer security professionals and related subject matter experts to sit down and discuss hacking. After that first meeting, the FBI and private sector participants recognized the value of getting to know one another and of building a trusted relationship. This first meeting led the group in Cleveland to expand and meet more often. Similar meetings began to occur in the neighboring communities of Columbus and Indianapolis.

The topics quickly expanded to include all issues relating to cyber and physical security. That’s when the concept of formalizing this network of FBI Agents and security professionals into an alliance took hold. The group’s decision to call itself “InfraGard” really describes everyone’s expectations: If the government and industry want to have the most impact guarding our infrastructure, we need to work together.



Q. Have those goals and expectations changed as the group has grown?

A. The FBI’s initial goals for InfraGard were met a long time ago – we opened a successful dialogue with the private sector and learned that the government and industry are equally challenged withcyber security issues. I think that we also got the word out that the FBI takes computer crime seriously and that each FBI office has Special Agents dedicated to investigating cybercrime.

The FBI’s second goal of expanding the InfraGard program to include both physical and cyber security issues was achieved over time, but happened most quickly after September 11th when everybody in the country was re-focused on physical protection. I think that the InfraGard program is flexible enough to allow our members to work together on cyber and physical security matters depending on what’s most important in particular locations and to particular members.

I think that the FBI’s expectations for the program also continue to be met. We started out expecting that the only way to protect our country was to get more people with security expertise actively involved. But if people are going to be involved and share information they need to trust each other. People want to know that sharing sensitive information will make them safer, not less secure. We expected that by meeting face-to-face with the owners and operators of our critical infrastructure, having them meet each other, and creating a network of members who agreed to undergo FBI background records checks, that information would be shared more often and more quickly. That’s what we hoped for, and that’s exactly what’s happening.



Q. Has the InfraGard partnership benefited the FBI?

A. InfraGard has been a great benefit to the FBI. One of the most important tools to help law enforcement protect the public is to get effective cooperation from the public. InfraGard members help the FBI by reporting crime more often and, with their expertise in so many different areas, standing ready and willing to help if needed.



Q. Do you think InfraGard has benefited the membership?

A. I hope that InfraGard members have found the same pride in associating with us as we have with them. We want members to know that if they have a problem there’s a Special Agent who understands their concerns and who they know by name and they can just pick up the phone and call that Special Agent they met through the program. For many companies, having that FBI point of contact is an enormous benefit and a great comfort. I’ve also found that our InfraGard members are enormously patriotic and who consider the relationship a benefit to them because it’s a benefit to the country. For their selflessness in volunteering to work with us, I can’t thank them enough.



Q. How do you envision InfraGard’s future?

A. I think that InfraGard’s membership base will continue to grow both in the number of members and in the areas of expertise they bring to the table. Already, we have enough interest in different security areas that we are creating special interest groups. We have established an InfraGard Chemical Interest Group and an InfraGard Agriculture Interest Group. I think that bringing together specific areas of interest and expertise is the future of InfraGard and will result in even greater cooperation and infrastructure protection success.



Q. How will the FBI use InfraGard’s rapid growth to promote its goals?

A. The FBI’s primary mission is to detect, deter, and prevent terrorism. The overall goal of the InfraGard Program is to identify subject matter expertise and connect the owners and operators of the critical infrastructure with each other and with government in a trusted environment. The interaction between subject matter experts and FBI agents is directly related to the FBI’s primary mission.

While the InfraGard Program is managed by the Cyber Division, the program impacts all divisions within the FBI. The InfraGard public/private collaboration supports the exchange of information concerning various terrorism, intelligence, criminal, and security matters.

InfraGard’s partnership with the private sector has resulted in the initiation and furtherance of numerous investigations in computer intrusions, other cyber related crimes, terrorism matters, and general criminal matters.



Q. Not all InfraGard members have security clearance, does that affect information dissemination?

A. All of our InfraGard members undergo an extensive FBI records check which allows us to share law enforcement sensitive information with them.



Q. How are private partnerships different from government partnerships?

A. One of the unique aspects of InfraGard is that it allows private sector representatives from numerous industries to work with each other and with the government at the same time. I still believe that the only way to really protect our infrastructure and catch those who would harm us is to work together. You can’t do that in partnerships that only include the private sector or only include the government.