Forwarded From: phreakmoi <hackereliteat_private> http://www.andovernews.com/cgi-bin/news_story.pl?120772,topstories House Subcommittees Plan Cyberterrorism Hearings WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1999 FEB 3 (Newsbytes) -- By Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes. Two House of Representatives subcommittees have announced that they are planning a joint hearing on the controversial idea circulating in the US federal government of posting "worst-case scenarios" of physical terrorism and attacks on the Internet. Health and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said the joint hearing, "Internet Posting of Worst-Case Scenarios: A Roadmap for Terrorists?" will take place Feb. 10. The announcement comes shortly after criticism last month from House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, R-Va., that a recent speech President Clinton gave on both physical and Internet-based terrorism did not go far enough on preventive measures against terrorist attacks. "Unfortunately, your recent proposals appear to do nothing to prevent such acts before they occur," Bliley wrote to the president. "While we certainly must be better prepared to deal with the consequences of terrorist attacks when they happen -- something your proposals target, we must emphasize prevention to the greatest degree possible." Bliley said that he is particularly concerned about the posting of "sensitive information about US chemical and gas facilities in an easily searchable format on the World Wide Web." His comments echo other criticisms of the proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to post disaster data online. While it ostensibly would be used to aid people living near areas where disasters may occur, Bliley said the information could "empower terrorists to pinpoint attacks on our neighborhoods and towns. "Another threat to our national security that your proposal does not address is the potential posting of worst-case scenario information from 66,000 industrial, federal or other facilities in an easily searchable format..." Bliley said. "The EPA has backed off from its dangerous plan to post such data. But the FBI, the intelligence community and emergency response professionals continue to express concern about third-party access to and dissemination of such information in a searchable format." Bliley said "we must protect America's right to know health and safety information in a way that does not empower terrorists to pinpoint attacks on our neighborhoods and towns." Newsbytes in early September noted that the Chemical Manufacturers Association released a report that concluded that the EPA's plans to release the data would endanger "tens of thousands of industrial facilities." The FBI, CIA, National Fire Chiefs' Association, Bliley, and other legislators all had presented their worries with the EPA's plan to release the data. Environmental groups, however, have supported the plan. They claim that residents near chemical manufacturing facilities need to know what dangers exist. The Chemical Manufacturers Association in September said it proposed a system by which the information would be released on both paper and a secure CD-ROM, but only to government officials and other need-to-know recipients. The EPA, according to the association, had rejected this idea, though it since told Congress that it would make the information available to state and local agencies and libraries on a "secure computer system." Reported by Newsbytes News Network, http://www.newsbytes.com . -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Internet Security Institute [www.isi-sec.com]
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