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| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
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| Mailing List Archives |
| Subject: | GISList: Blocked access to GIS data by NIMA |
| Date: |
09/25/2001 04:05:19 PM |
| From: |
Travis G. Smith |
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FYI...
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.
“It’s not the intent to bog things down,” she said. “[These maps\ are
being
held back because of force protection considerations.”
Created in 1996, NIMA handles mapping and imaging services for the
Defense
Department and intelligence agencies. The majority of NIMA products are
classified, but NIMA allows other agencies to make some maps and
satellite
images available to the public.
Last week, NIMA directed the U.S. Geological Survey and the Federal
Aviation
Administration to halt sales of all NIMA-made topographic maps and
ordered
the Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration
to
deny public access to such maps, Mears said. The sales restriction
extended
to private firms that are licensed to sell NIMA products. NIMA’s
nautical and
aeronautical maps, which are used for ship and air navigation, were not
part
of the review and are still available to the public, according to Mears.
The Library of Congress quickly obtained a waiver to the NIMA freeze so
it
could continue providing access to topographic maps of Vietnam, a
popular
collectors’ item among Vietnam veterans, according to Library officials
and
Ken Lee, CEO of Eastview Cartographic, a private firm that sells some
NIMA
products.
One intelligence expert questioned the wisdom of the freeze, noting that
since NIMA is not the only source of map information, restricting access
to
NIMA maps will not improve security.
“At www.mapquest.com, if you type in the address of any military
headquarters, you can get the map and a beautiful aerial image of the
headquarters and the surrounding area,” said Robert David Steele, CEO of
Open
Source Solutions, a Virginia-based intelligence consulting firm.
“Censorship
of open source [information\ is not the answer.”
The terrorist strikes also prompted NIMA to postpone outsourcing 600
information technology and services jobs to a joint venture of two
Alaskan
Native-owned corporations. NIMA now plans to award a final contract for
the
joint venture in December.
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