Wednesday, February 18 2004
The new year brought more scary news about mail-borne terrorism: On Feb. 2, the poison Ricin was discovered in a letter sent to a Capitol Hill legislator in Washington, D.C.
While no known biological or chemical attacks have been attempted through the U.S. Postal Service since the anthrax scare of 2001--which claimed the lives of several people in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere on the East Coast--the Postal Service reports that people send unidentified white powders through the mail daily. Most turn out to be common household substances such as talc or cornstarch.
One possible defense against such attacks, said members of the House Committee on Administration, is PDF. Already in development since the anthrax scare of 2001, the government’s "d-mail" program gets mail delivered to legislators electronically via PDF attachments from paper scans made at a Leesburg, Va., site.
Now, the committee indicates that the program will be expanded to include 25 House members receiving mail via updated software that includes more robust search functions. Those using the program so far say the software affords a side benefit: The ability to sift (and delete) junk mail more quickly. It also logs the names and addresses of mail senders.
All mail to Congress currently is irradiated before it arrives at Capitol Hill. Changing to a PDF delivery system, said Committee Chairman Bob Ney (R-Ohio), is the "second step" in defending against mail attacks.
Source:
http://www.graphicsiq.com
