The web site of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Computer Problem has become a victim of hackers -- along with the whole of the Senate web site. Apparently someone or ones in the hacker community has 'defaced' the Senate site and performed a 'denial of service' hack on the FBI site in sympathetic reaction to an FBI raid on a group of hackers in various cities in the U.S. (See the previous thread for more info.)

Currently it's not possible to access, for example, any of the reports from Tuesday's Media/Preparedness meeting. Given the level of concern Senators Bennett and Dodd expressed about the possible effects of computer failure last week I imagine they may be surprised by this outage. Or would they think this is merely an example of a 'localized failure'?

-- Ron Rodgers (RonRodgers@Resilience2000.com), May 28, 1999

Answers

>Given the level of concern Senators Bennett and Dodd expressed about the possible effects of computer failure last week I imagine they may be surprised by this outage. Or would they think this is merely an example of a 'localized failure'?

According to all reports I've seen, this is not a Y2k event. Assuming those reports were accurate, unless there were some as-yet-unmentioned Y2k flaw in the security measures that were bypassed or overcome by the cyberattackers, this cannot be taken as any example of a Y2k failure, 'localized' or not.

Now, there is another angle: Speculation that Y2k problems will be misdiagnosed, deliberately or mistakenly, as being the result of cyberattacks. Might that be true here? It doesn't seem likely to me, but that is based on only the reports I've seen. So if this is indeed an example of a Y2k-related 'localized failure', then it's not being reported honestly.

I vote for the first alternative: not a Y2k-rlated event.

-- No Spam Pease (No_Spam_Please@anon_ymous.com), May 28, 1999.

No, of course it's not a Y2K event. My intention was to make notice of the fact that the Y2K information at the Senate site was unavailable. And second to point to the interrelatedness of apparently unrelated events ... the FBI raids hackers homes and the unexpected happens: the Senate site is hacked. My question about the Senators' view of this event was a reference to Sen. Bennett's assertion (on 60 Minutes Sun. night) that the dire predictions will come true but only in localized scenarios. How, I would ask, are we to believe that dire consequences can effectively be localized? In my opinion Bennett's statement is unlikely to be a true prediction of the way events unfold.

-- Ron Rodgers (RonRodgers@Resilience2000.com), May 28, 1999.

For my part I consider it a Y2K "event."

Should'a made copies of all the linked Preparedness & Media Testimony, instead of "assuming" it would be there when I wanted access.

Their downtime ripples in other ways. What if? an investigative reporter was working on a story deadlined this weekend and wanted to use the written prep and/or media testimony for quotes, etc. So instead, they write a different story. What if? an out-of-state mother with childern, visiting relatives this weekend would have read that story, and come to a different decision. What if?...

Ya never know where the ripples rip.

Lessons learned.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 28, 1999.

All events occur at the local level. They have to hit somewhere, and where the spigot runs dry, the bulbs don't light up, and the stores are closed is local. Even if the events occur simultaneously all around the globe, the consequences come down locally. Think "1000 points of non-light" ;^)

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), May 28, 1999.