Many Department of Interior Web Sites Shutdown

On March 15, 2004, a federal judge in Washington, DC ordered the Interior Department to shut down most of its employees' Internet access and some of its public Web sites after concluding that the agency has computer security problems that may threaten millions of dollars owed to Native Americans.

This decision covers computer connections and Web sites in the Department of Interior's Inspector General's Office, the Minerals Management Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Office of the Special Trustee, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Surface Mining, and the National Business Center.

Interior has been permitted to keep emergency systems connected, particularly those involving firefighting and policing. Also, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and Interior's budget office Web sites will remain connected because the court was convinced that those agencies' sites are secure.

It is unclear when these systems will be back online. We are monitoring the situation and will reestablish our links to the Department of Interior Web sites as soon as they are once again available.