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Norton testifies on trust fund shutdown
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2002

Last Updated: 11:00 a.m. EDT.

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton said today her department has spent at least $13 million to reconnect its computer systems to the Internet.

At a Senate hearing on the fiscal year 2003 budget, she said most of the Interior's computer systems were back online. She said the Office of the Special Trustee (OST), the Bureau of Indian Affairs and some department-level offices were not connected.

"We've been working with the special master of the court in the Cobell litigation to reconnect them," she told the Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee.

The figure Norton cited did not include staff time or other costs, she said.

She also told the committee additional funding is needed to develop a specialized information technology infrastructure to house the assets of tribes and 300,000 American Indians. "We've concluded there is a need for a dedicated network for trust data," she said.

The committee has given the go ahead to start building the network. Reprogramming of funds might be needed down the line, Norton added.

The Interior's systems were shut down in response to a December 5, 2001, court order. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered a disconnect because the computers could be easily hacked by outsiders or insiders.

The department has worked to install firewalls, network controls and institute other changes to correct some of the vulnerabilities. Despite the improvements, a team of federal computer security experts recently concluded that many systems were lacked adequate protections.

The Computer Security Expert Assist Team (CSEAT) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) also said it would take at least $10 million for a "corrective action" program. This amount of money, however, would not correct all problems, so the team suggested a $20 million investment to address additional concerns.

Even then, CSEAT said 22 percent of more than 600 vulnerabilities would still remain unfixed.

When Norton unveiled her 2003 budget in February, she said the department anticipated spending $65 million over three years on information technology security.

Relevant Documents:
CSEAT Draft Report on Indian Trust System (April 2002)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://130.94.214.68/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

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