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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-
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Received on Thu Mar 11 17:18:29 1999