fwd: Cobell lawyers ask trust systems be shutdown again (3rd time)

Fri Apr 15 01:39:30 UTC 2005

Howdy all,

        "Because it is indisputable that the 'poor state of network
        security' creates an imminent risk of irreparable injury...
        plaintiffs request that this court disconnect from the Internet
        and shut down each information technology system which houses
        or access individual Indian trust data to protect plaintiffs
        against further injury to their interests...,"

The perenial fuck't up ness of the US DOI BIA Trust is something that could
be fixed, if the contracting office and/or contractors had competitive clue,
but they don't, and probably won't ever.

Think of it as a finding of fact that depeering is in the best interests of
the putative beneficiaries of the Indian Trust systems.

Eric

------- Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 11:08:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Indian Trust ListServ <listadmin at list.indiantrust.com>
To: Indian Trust ListServ <list at list.indiantrust.com>
Subject: Cobell v. Norton - "Sham" Certification Process Used to Okay
 Defective Computer Systems

       WASHIINGTON, April 12 -- The Interior Department used "a sham certificati
on and accreditation process" to operate defective computer systems which house
or access individual Indian Trust accounts, plaintiffs told a federal judge.
        Citing the Interior Department's own records, lawyers in the Cobell laws
uit against Interior Secretary Gale Norton have asked U.S. District Judge Royce
Lamberth to reimpose a temporary restraining order, shutting down all trust syst
ems.
        The temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the
 department are essential to protect 500,000 trust account beneficiaries from fu
rther irreparable harm, the petition notes.
        "Because it is indisputable that the 'poor state of network security' cr
eates an imminent risk of irreparable injury...plaintiffs request that this cour
t disconnect from the Internet and shut down each information technology system
which houses or access individual Indian trust data to protect plaintiffs agains
t further injury to their interests...," the petition reads.
        It cited a study by the Interior Department's own inspector general who
reported that "given the poor state of network security...and the the weak acces
s controls we encountered on many systems, it is safe to say that we could have
easily compromised the confidentiality, integrity and availablity of the identif
ied Indian Trust data residing on such systems."
        Judge Lamberth has twice directed cutoffs of Interior's computer systems
 to protect trust data.  But each time the department has reopened those systems
, contending that they were safe from computer hackers.
        The new filing by the Cobell lawyers reports that Interior's chief infor
mation officer, Hord Tipton, has said in a deposition that Interior officials di
d not even consider the risk to Indian trust data when they reviewed the systems
.
        Additional details of how the department reconnected its computers using
 the sham accreditition process are available in the filing for the temporary re
straining order at www.indiantrust.com.

------- End of Forwarded Message