White House orders agencies to remove sensitive info from Web

The White House on Wednesday ordered all federal agencies to scrub their Web sites of sensitive information on weapons of mass destruction and other data that might be used by terrorists, according to a Washington Times report.

Late Wednesday afternoon, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card sent a memo to agency heads and executive departments ordering an "immediate re-examination" of public documents. The officials were told to report their findings within 90 days to the Office of Homeland Security.

Agencies also must pull "sensitive but unclassified information," according to a second memo.

That memo--written by Laura Kimberly, acting director of the Information Security Oversight Office, and Richard Huff and Daniel Metcalfe, co-directors of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy--told agencies to also consider "the benefits that result from the open and efficient exchange of scientific, technical, and like information."

White House officials say the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have forced the administration to strike a more cautious balance between openness and secrecy.