Indian Affairs is now on the path to full reconnection to the Internet. In a major development with regard to the Cobell v. Norton litigation, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 14, 2008, granted defendants’ motion to vacate the December 17, 2001, Consent Order Regarding Information Technology Security and has given its permission for the information technology systems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA), the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), and the Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) to be reconnected to the Internet. A copy of the Court Order is attached.

The Department, and Indian Affairs has worked long and diligently to resolve the IT security issues that have concerned the Court with respect to the Department’s systems housing Individual Indian Trust Data (IITD). Indian Affairs is pleased that the Court has granted this opportunity to improve our level of service to the tribes and individual Indian trust beneficiaries and to demonstrate our commitment to the protection and preservation of the IITD.