FBI Thanks Fordham for Partnering on Conference

Joseph M. Demarest of the FBI presents a plaque to Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. Demarest also thanked John Tognino (FCLS ’75), chair of the Fordham Board of Trustees, for his assistance.
Photo by Chris Taggart

The New York Office of the FBI presented Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, with a plaque of appreciation on Jan. 7 for hosting the International Conference on Cyber Security.

“The conference has been an apparent, and huge, success,” said Joseph M. Demarest, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York division. “We’re giving this to you to express our sincere appreciation to Fordham University.”

Demarest also thanked John Tognino (FCLS ’75), chairman of Fordham’s Board of Trustees, for his participation and hosting of the three-day conference, which examined the emerging global threat of cyber crime and cyber terrorism.

“The conference has been great in providing networking opportunities,” Demarest said. “The presentations have been outstanding.”

The conference, which attracted some 300 international experts on cyber security as well as representatives from 37 nations, was sponsored jointly by the FBI’s New York division and Fordham’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences.

It is the first conference in which the FBI and a university have collaborated on global solutions to cyber crime with participants from law enforcement, academia and industry.

Father McShane presented Demarest and others in the FBI with pens featuring the Fordham logo and Fordham University baseball caps.

“We were truly delighted when we were asked to be partners on this conference,” Father McShane said. “We hope this is the beginning of a long partnership with the FBI and the first of many conferences.”
Father McShane also thanked Anthony Ferrante (FCRH ’01, GSAS ’04), a special agent with the FBI.

“You’ve done remarkable work coming up with the idea for this conference,” Father McShane said. “We’re very proud of you as a Fordham University graduate.”

Ferrante, who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Rose Hill, worked in private industry after graduating from Fordham. He then earned a master’s degree in computer science from the Fordham Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and became a special agent with the FBI.

Ferrante, who works out of the FBI’s New York Division, focuses on what he calls the top two priorities of the agency—cyber counterterrorism and cyber counterintelligence matters.