Study Examines Government Web Site Security
A study by the Rand Defense Research Institute found that almost all federal government Web sites that contain information about potential terrorist targets such as airports do not need to be censored, because the same information–or better data–is available elsewhere.
Rand suggested that government officials restore public access to about 35 Web pages that were removed from the Internet after the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States over security fears.
Open government advocates say the report indicates overly hasty action by the Bush administration after the attacks. The study found 629 Internet-accessible federal databases that had critical data about specific locations, but none had information that was essential to a terrorist, and found only four databases that might enhance homeland security by remaining offline.
The researchers recommended that officials evaluate 66 databases but did not believe that restrictions were needed. The researchers also found that 30 federal agencies or departments currently provide public geospatial data, either in print or online, while 39 federal geospatial databases were taken offline after Sept. 11.
“It’s a good time to take a closer look at the choices that [were] made” after Sept. 11, 2001, says John Baker, principal author of the study, which was funded by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Associated Press (05/10/04); Sniffen, Michael J.