Judge orders shutdown of many Interior Department computer systems

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/06/27/national2105EDT0820.DTL

ROBERT GEHRKE
Associated Press Writer 
June 27, 2003 

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge pulled the plug Friday on many of
the Interior Department's Internet systems -- the second time the
judge has ordered such a shutdown to keep hackers from reaching $1
billion in American Indian money managed by the department.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said the government left him little
choice when it refused to allow a court-appointed special master to
test the measures in place to protect the Indian money.

"You put the ball in my court," Lamberth told Justice Department
attorney John Warshawsky.

Warshawsky said the ruling doesn't make sense. "I have to say at the
outset that what you are doing is wrong," he told Lamberth.

Dennis Gingold, the attorney for the Indian plaintiffs, argued that
without the tests, there could be no assurances the Indian money is
safe from hackers. The plaintiffs allege the government squandered
$137 billion from the trust fund over more than a century.

In December 2001, Lamberth ordered the department to disconnect nearly
all of its computers from the Internet after special master Alan
Balaran hacked department's porous security system.

Many of the systems were down for months, including popular sites that
contained information on National Parks and other public lands. The
department said the shutdown delayed payments to the American Indian
landowners, many of whom rely on their royalty check, particularly in
the dead of winter.

It took months to install security fixes that allowed the sites to go
back online and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Web site has still not
been restored.

It is unclear how many Interior Department computer systems will be
affected by the latest order. Warshawsky said many of the department's
systems, including the Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation and the
U.S. Geological Survey do not contain any Indian records and will not
be affected.

Lamberth's order also exempts "any system essential for protection
against fires and other threat to life or property."

The Bureau of Land Management used its computers to coordinate
firefighting efforts on several blazes in the West.

The lawsuit, filed in 1996, alleges the Interior Department has failed
in its duty to manage the Indian land royalties.

In 1999, Lamberth ordered the department to account for money that had
passed through the trust fund and repair management flaws.

Lamberth has been clearly frustrated with the department's failure to
react. Last September, based in part on Balaran's findings regarding
the computer security, Lamberth ruled that Interior Secretary Gale
Norton had committed fraud on the court by concealing failures and
delays in fixing the trust fund and held her in contempt.

The department has appealed his ruling.

Lamberth is also in the midst of a trial that began in May 1 to
determine if the department has a feasible plan to account for money
owed to the Indian beneficiaries. That trial is expected to conclude
July 8.


On the Net:  

Indian plaintiffs: 
www.indiantrust.com/

Justice Department Indian trust site:  
www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/

Interior Department Indian trust site: 
www.doi.gov/indiantrust/
 


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