diff --git a/cabot/settings.py b/cabot/settings.py
index c3b6406..932aa2d 100644
--- a/cabot/settings.py
+++ b/cabot/settings.py
@@ -246,9 +246,10 @@ REST_FRAMEWORK = {
 AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = (
     'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend',
 )
-AUTH_LDAP = os.environ.get('AUTH_LDAP', 'false')
 
-if AUTH_LDAP.lower() == "true":
+AUTH_LDAP = os.environ.get('AUTH_LDAP', False)
+
+if AUTH_LDAP:
     from settings_ldap import *
     AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS += tuple(['django_auth_ldap.backend.LDAPBackend'])