SIA#14 Environmental Data Report, WTC Site, Nov 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Page 2 of 3

By ROBERT GEHRKE, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Much of the Interior Department was without e-mail or Internet access Friday after a judge ordered the systems shut down to protect an Indian trust fund from potential hackers.

Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles notified employees of the shutdown in a memo.

"To the best of my knowledge, all relevant Interior agencies have disconnected their computer Internet access and the department's external network connections have been shut down," Griles wrote.

It is unclear how long the shutdown will last.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued the emergency order late Wednesday after a report showed an Interior Department system that handles $500 million annually in royalties from Indian land had little security and was an easy target for potential hackers.

"In meeting the requirements of the court, our ability to conduct a large portion of our daily business has been impacted," Griles wrote.

He said computer experts were working to find a way to restore operations while complying with the court order. Bureau of Land Management (news - web sites) employees in Denver had been told their Internet access would be restored Friday morning, but the networks were still not working Friday night.

BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington said she could send e-mail to other BLM employees, but could not contact anyone outside the bureau.

The Internet shutdown had also affected e-mail at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites).

Interior spokesman John Wright said it was not clear how the computer problems were impairing the work done by the various departments.

A company called Emergency E-mail Network donated its services Friday to allow 11,000 USGS

12/10/2001

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