WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Council of ISACs (NCI) – the organization of 22 sector-based information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) – announced the appointment of Joshua S. Poster as the council's new vice-chair and Joseph R. Viens as its new secretary. NCI Chair Denise Anderson, who is the president of the National Health ISAC, welcomed them to their new positions. “The mission of ISACs is to enable owners and operators to protect critical infrastructure against physical and cyber threats and improve their resilience; our mission at NCI is to support our member ISACs in those endeavors through information sharing and coordination,” Anderson noted. “The National Council of ISACs is very excited to have Josh and Joe as part of our leadership team. Their contributions will strengthen the NCI’s ability to help all ISACs fulfill their missions.” “Josh knows ISACs inside and out, given his experience as NCI secretary for a number of years and from his work at the Public Transportation and Surface Transportation ISACs and, now, at the Automotive ISAC,” Anderson added. “And Joe brings to his new role his experience overseeing the work of the Communication ISAC as well as his leadership on the Communication Sector Coordinating Council.”
About Joshua Poster Joshua Poster is the program operations manager for the Automotive ISAC. Poster has over 11 years of experience performing critical infrastructure protection functions in the Transportation Sector. Poster has performed analyst and program management roles in both cyber and physical vulnerability, threat, and risk management; security program development, implementation, and assessment; and exercise program creation and execution. For nearly his entire CIP career, Poster has worked in the ISAC community, and alongside its leadership, representing the Public Transportation, Surface Transportation, and Automotive ISACs within NCI. He previously served as NCI’s secretary. About Joseph Viens Joseph Viens is a senior director of government affairs at Charter Communications. He is principally responsible for building and maintaining relationships with government agencies. Viens is also the primary liaison to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other key industry stakeholders, coordinating national security and emergency preparedness initiatives. He has been in the telecommunications industry for over 34 years and has served in multiple management roles, including technical operations, security, risk management, and policy. He has served in leadership roles in the Communication ISAC and the Communication Sector Coordinating Council (CSCC) for over seven years. Viens is currently in his fourth two-year term as the vice chair/chair of the Comm-ISAC. He is also serving in his second term on the executive committee of the CSCC and chairs the CSCC Information Sharing Working Group. Viens is board-certified in security management from ASIS International and is a member of the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni. About the ISACs and the National Council of ISACs The National Council of ISACs is an organization of 22 sector-based information sharing and analysis centers. These ISACs formed over the last two decades following the issuance of Presidential Decision Directive 63 in 1998. NCI’s member ISACs are trusted entities established by critical infrastructure owners and operators to foster information sharing and best practices about physical and cyber threats and mitigation. Typically nonprofit organizations, ISACs reach deep into their sectors, communicating critical information far and wide and maintaining sector-wide situational awareness. Formed in 2003, the NCI is a true cross-sector partnership, providing a forum for sharing cyber and physical threats and mitigation strategies among ISACs and with government and private sector partners during steady-state conditions and during incidents requiring cross-sector response. Sharing and coordination across the ISACs is accomplished through daily and weekly calls between ISAC operations centers, daily reports, requests-for-information, monthly meetings, exercises, and other activities as situations require. The NCI also organizes its own drills and exercises and participates in national exercises.