ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook July 30, 1999 Volume 4, No. 29 Published by the Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA Bob Cohen, Editor bcohen@itaa.org Read in over 80 countries around the world ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is published every Friday to help all organizations deal more effectively with the Year 2000 software conversion. To create a subscription to this free publication, please visit ITAA on the web at https://www.itaa.org/transact/2ko utlooksub.htm. To cancel an existing subscription, visit https://www.itaa.org/transact/2kremove.htm. ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is sponsored in part by CACI International Inc., DMR Consulting Group Inc and Y2Kplus. In this Issue: Hearing Takes Aim at Rogue Programmers Greenspan Banking on Y2K Worthiness of Banking System Senators Air Concerns Over Russian Readiness FTC Warns Consumers on End of Week Rollover SEC Draws Readiness Deadline for Broker-Dealers Y2K Outlook Calls August Recess Business to Business ITAA Y2K Information Center Sponsor Advertising Hearing Takes Aim at Rogue Programmers The Y2K fox may be on the prowl in the federal government’s hen house. A Senate hearing this week heard witnesses describe how Y2K repairs performed by the malice-minded could be creating opportunities for downstream havoc. The Senate Committee on the Ye ar 2000 Technology Problem conducted the hearing, and its Co-Chairman, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CN), said programmers who are not government employees and do not have security clearances are still being given access to critical systems. While FBI National Infrastructure Protection Center Director Michael Vatis said experts could be programming in trap doors and logic bombs even as they stamp out the Millennium bug, witness Richard Schaeffer, DoD’s director of Infrastructure and Informati on Assurance, called the likelihood of finding malicious code extremely small. He also said it may be difficult to distinguish between a naturally occurring Y2K error and a purposely planted disturbance. Vatis said Y2K offers foreign companies and count ries a unique opportunity to interfere with information systems. Meanwhile, a draft U.S. government proposal obtained this week by the Associated Press indicates that Uncle Sam may be planning a network to monitor and prevent unauthorized access to government information systems. Greenspan Banking on Y2K Worthiness of Banking System Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says banks are the best bet for riding out the Y2K rollover. Addressing the Senate Banking Committee this week, Greenspan said “I think you will have a far greater chance of losing your money if you take it out tha n if you leave it in.” Greenspan warned of the advent of Millennium thievery and indicated that public fears about the bug are far worse than its banking reality. Senators Air Concerns Over Russian Readiness Sens. Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Christopher Dodd (D-CN) have issued a joint statement warning of the dangers posed by Y2K to nuclear early warning systems and urging Russia to restart talks about a joint early warning center. Bennett and Dodd sent Russia n Federation Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin a letter expressing hope that the two countries’ Y2K decision makers could meet next month to confer on the issue. Meanwhile, Stepashin has ordered Russian ministries to analyze their computer systems and report on Y2K problems. FTC Warns Consumers on End of Week Rollover The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urged consumers this week to make certain Global Positioning System-reliant devices are both end of week (EOW) and Y2K compliant. GPS receivers may fail on August 21 as the result of a calculation that resets GPS satell ites every 1,024 weeks. Joan Bernstein, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, warns that consumers using the GPS for position finding on land, sea, or air could be placed in harm’s way should their systems fail. A recent statement from the Coast Guard says, “GPS System Time will roll over at midnight 21-22 August 1999, 132 days before the Year 2000. On 22 August 1999, unless repaired, many GPS receivers will claim that it is 6 January 1980, 23 August will become 7 January, and so on. Accuracy of navigation may also be severely affected. Although it appears that GPS broadcasts do contain sufficient data to ensure that navigation need not be affected by rollover in 1999, it is not proven that the firmware in all re ceivers will handle the rollovers in stride; some receivers may claim wrong locations in addition to incorrect dates. Some manufacturers have already solved the problem, but some have not.” The Coast Guard provides manufacturer contact information at: http://www.navcen.uscg.mil/gps/geninfo/y2k/gpsmanufacturers/manufacturers.html SEC Draws Readiness Deadline for Broker-Dealers The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it will close the door on broker-dealers and non-bank transfer agents unable to meet a four-part test for mission critical system readiness. The Commission rules require broker-dealers and non-bank transfe r agents “to be Y2K compliant by November 15, 1999, to be able to continue their business, and to keep certain records to help facilitate the identification of securities positions, or the transfer to and conversion of records to a Y2K compliant entity,” according to an SEC statement. The rules are expected to be published in the Federal Register next week. Also this week, the SEC announced that it has the Y2K status of 27,000 broker-dealers, transfer agents, investment advisers and mutual funds in a searchable online database. The site is located at: http://www.sec.gov/news/y2k/y2kreps.htm. Y2K Outlook Calls August Recess ITAA's Y2K Outlook will take a time out during the month of August and, computers willing, return on September 10. Business to Business Raytheon Co., Lexington, KT, has won a Y2K contract with the U.S. Air Force. ITAA Y2K Information Center Solution Providers Directory http://www.itaa.org/script/2000vend.cfm ITAA*2000 Certification Program http://www.itaa.org/2000cert.htm Outlook Archive http://www.itaa.org/script/get2klet.cfm Legislative and Litigation Table http://www.itaa.org/year2000/legis.htm Calendar http://www.itaa.org/y2kcal.htm Vendor/User Status Questionnaires http://www.itaa.org/questmain1.htm Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) http://www.itaa.org/year2000/adr.htm Statement of Intention to Use ADR http://www.itaa.org/year2000/soi.htm, Y2K Mediators Seminar http://www.technologymediation.com/Y2K_seminar.htm Copyright ITAA 1999. All rights reserved. The Information Technology Association of America, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300