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/ - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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