Bill Yang, Systems Specialist at OSC (Ohio Supercomputer Center), attended a joint press conference in Washington D.C. on January 5, 2001 to officially unveil InfraGard, a cooperative venture he helped create among the National Infrastructure Protection Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and hundreds of partners around the country.
The conference was held to commemorate the successful organization of InfraGard across the United States. Attorney General Janet Reno, top FBI officials and InfraGard's organizing members joined Yang at the press conference, which was expected to be covered by CNN.
The conference was held to commemorate the successful organization of InfraGard across the United States. Attorney General Janet Reno, top FBI officials and InfraGard's organizing members joined Yang at the press conference, which was expected to be covered by CNN.
InfraGard is a public-private partnership dedicated to the sharing of information about threats to the infrastructure, and the development of trust and relationships that can mitigate the damage a security event can cause.
"It is a great honor to see our hard work recognized by the United States Government," Yang said. "OSC is committed to understanding the new risks of the Information Age. Computer security issues often cross jurisdictional lines. OSC has perceived the need for solutions that supercede state and perhaps even national boundaries. InfraGard is a strong first step toward these solutions."
The FBI approached Yang in 1996 to help found a professional organization focusing on computer security issues. In cooperation with industrial and academic security officials in the Midwest, the FBI from Cleveland asked OSC to partner in the formation of a national organization. Yang was elected as one of the founding steering board members.
FBI Director Louis J. Freeh said, "Computer crime is one of the most dynamic problems the FBI faces today. I am proud of the progress we have made in dealing with this problem by establishing the Infragard initiative and opening the lines of communication between the public and private sectors and the law enforcement community."
Prior to the press conference, Yang also received a letter of commendation and award from the United States Government on his service in founding the organization.
For more than a decade, OSC has been Ohio's flagship center for high performance computing and networking. OSC's goal is nothing less than to make Ohio the education and technology state of the future. Networking and high performance computing (HPC) are the Center's core divisions with education and technology policy initiatives rounding out the organization.
