FC: Federal mapping agency blocks access to topographic maps

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0901/092501p1.htm

     Mapping agency blocks access, postpones outsourcing pact

     By Jason Peckenpaugh
     jpeckenpaugh () govexec com

     The National Imagery and Mapping Agency blocked access to a wide
     range of its publicly available maps last week while officials
     reviewed the maps to make sure they did not contain information
     that could jeopardize national security.

     NIMA issued the unprecedented freeze last Wednesday as a security
     precaution in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes on the
     World Trade Center and the Pentagon, according to NIMA spokeswoman
     Joan Mears.

     The order prohibited agencies from selling or making accessible for
     copy all NIMA topographic maps. While most of these maps are now
     available to the public, maps of U.S. military installations and
     more detailed maps of the United States remain off-limits for
     security reasons, according to Mears.

     [...]




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