Forwarded from: leon <leonat_private> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020321/ts_nm/bush_ documents_dc_2&cid=578 Government to Scrub 'Sensitive' Web Information Thu Mar 21,12:43 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government agencies have been ordered to clear their Web sites of sensitive information about weapons of mass destruction that could be exploited by would-be terrorists, according to memos released on Thursday. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card requested an "immediate re-examination" of all public documents that critics said could result in the government withdrawing thousands of papers, records and reports that have been available for years. "Government information, regardless of its age, that could reasonably be expected to assist in the development or use of weapons of mass destruction ... should not be disclosed inappropriately," Card wrote. The heads of all agencies and executive departments "have an obligation to safeguard government records regarding weapons of mass destruction," the memo said. It gave them 90 days to report their findings to Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) defended the move in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, calling it "balanced and principled." He said agencies would have to be even more careful now and expressed hope that the private sector would follow suit. "The downside of the Internet is that the same information can be viewed by would-be terrorists or states," he told reporters, adding that some details about "making better explosives and poisoning water" already had been removed. In addition to documents on weapons of mass destruction, the review includes "sensitive but unclassified information" that "could be misused to harm the security of our nation and the safety of our people." An accompanying memo from the acting director of information security oversight, Laura Kimberly, told agencies and departments to classify information regardless of age that "could reasonably be expected to assist in the development or use of weapons of mass destruction." It recommends even declassified information that is sensitive be reclassified. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> iQA/AwUBPJovDNqAgf0xoaEuEQJImgCcCNqYklNmFYlDyEmT1o1LYXv+RGkAn3G0 HlkpDaD3yEiJyy+XNI6etrZO =PDmB -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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