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Daily Archives: May 10, 2004

Data on Gov’t Websites Does Not Pose Security Risk

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As a follow-up to my May 5 posting, Dept. of Interior Guidelines to Secure Geospatial Data, from the Rand Corporation, this press release stating that “Less than 1 percent of publicly available federal Web sites and databases contain geospatial information not readily available elsewhere that could help terrorists and other hostile forces mount attacks in the United States.”
America’s Publicly Available Geospatial Information: Does It Pose a Homeland Security Risk?

  • From the Research Brief – “The RAND study concluded that although publicly accessible geospatial information has the potential to be generally helpful in selecting and locating a target, potential attackers, such as terrorists, are likely to need more reliable, more detailed, and more up-to-date information to plan and carry out a strike than is typically publicly accessible.”
  • In relation to the Rand report, this AP article identifies four government databases whose content was restricted and remains offline due to security issues.

    • NY Bar Associaton Reports on Human Rights and Detainees

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    From the Association of the Bar of the City of New York press release issued April 30, 2004: “The New York City Bar Association released a report today comprehensively analyzing the multitude of domestic and international laws prohibiting torture and regulating interrogation processes, and making recommendations for how the U.S. should interrogate detainees.” Human rights… Continue Reading

    NLM Debuted New Website Design Today

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    From the FAQ on the redesign, which includes screen shots and navigation tips: “The resulting look incorporates an entirely new feel, and an easier to use navigation. The homepage includes many new features: up-to-date news, quick links to popular resources, and a carefully tested organization designed to help users find what they need as quickly… Continue Reading

    Website Usability Study Indicates Progress With Room to Improve

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    According to a new survey by Web usability guru Dr. Jakob Nielsen (presented at the Web Usability 2004 conference), net users are achieving greater success locating specific information using search engines than was previously the case. This is in large measure to improvements made by the search engines themselves, as well as more precision used… Continue Reading