Private Defense Information taken off Internet.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Security Beat

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) recently removed the biography of its commanding officer from its public Web site, citing a memorandum by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. The memo reportedly said that all private information about operational commanders and their staffs must be taken off the Internet.

Numbered fleets and all other expeditionary commands have long kept all biographical information out of the public eye, but DISA, the agency that manages satellites, telephones, and Internet connections, has up until now, not been considered expeditionary.

Though certain organizations and departments within the military services have long subscribed to the policy that no private...