From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: Army goes offline in reaction to Pentagon order Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:24:30 -0500 To: believer@telepath.com Source: Federal Computer Week http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/0928/web-army-9-28-98.html ---------- SEPTEMBER 28, 1998 . . . 11:50 EDT ---------- Army goes offline in reaction to Pentagon order BY BOB BREWIN (antenna@fcw.com) The Army slammed shut its door to the wired world last week, closing down all its World Wide Web sites in reaction to a new Pentagon Web security policy. Only the Army had such a drastic response to a Defense Department memo issued last week that spelled out what information DOD Web sites should and should not post. The Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps still offer the public access to popular and highly visible Web pages. The Army's move is in reaction to Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre's policy memo released Sept. 17, which directed all military organizations that maintain Web sites to review and then remove sensitive information that could aid potential enemies of the United States. Hamre said some Web sites in the past have provided "too much detail on DOD capabilities, infrastructure and operational capabilities.'' Hamre said this new policy will help DOD to "strike a balance between openness and sound security.'' The Army, according to an internal message furnished to FCW, responded by directing all commanders to ensure that "all of their publicly accessible Web sites are immediately disconnected from the Internet.'' Lt. Gen. William Campbell, the Army's director of information systems for command, control, communications and computers, sent the message at 5 p.m. Friday. He added that the shutdown could be accomplished by physically disconnecting Web servers from the public network, moving all Web site files from public to nonpublic servers or instituting control mechanisms that prohibit public access. The internal Army message also suggested that commands deal with frustrated users trying to access Army Web sites by posting a new "cover page'' (in use on many Army Web pages, including the main site at www.army.mil) that reads: "This Army Web site is not currently available. This Web site will be available again after maintenance is completed.'' The Web shutdown caught the public affairs staff at the Department of the Army's headquarters in the Pentagon by surprise. An Army spokesman was unable to offer any explanation for the move or any indication of when the sites would be operating again. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************