U.S. Y2K Czar: Gaps in Police, Health Readiness

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U.S. Y2K Czar: Gaps in Police, Health Readiness

Updated 11:24 AM ET November 10, 1999By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government and vital U.S. services are ready for the Year 2000 technology glitch but many localities, small businesses and schools appear poorly prepared, President Clinton's top Y2K advisor said in a report released Wednesday.

Surveys of more than 2,700 of the nation's "911" emergency call centers -- most of which are operated by local governments -- found that only 50 percent were Y2K compliant as of Oct. 1, said John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.

Although this amounted to a 13 percentage point increase since June, "it is clear that a significant amount of work remains for all centers to be ready before January 1," he said.

In the council's fourth and final status report, Koskinen also voiced concerns about small businesses that are taking a "wait-and-see" approach to Y2K, the design defect that may scramble unprepared computers on Jan. 1.

SMALL BUSINESSES WARNED

An April 1999 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found 28 percent of small companies considered vulnerable to Y2K problems did not plan to do anything to head them off. Instead, they would tackle them after they occurred, an approach that U.S. officials said could put companies out of business.

"Concerns also exist about organizations that have late- or end-year target dates for completing Y2K work and are not developing continuity of business contingency plans," Koskinen said in a written summary of the council's findings.

"These organizations are not leaving themselves enough time for unexpected delays or problems that may arise in testing," he said.

Smaller health care facilities continue to be difficult to assess on a national level. But "much work remains to be done" to prepare some health care providers, Koskinen said, citing survey data from July and August that found only 40 percent were Y2K ready.

In another problem area, more than one third of elementary and secondary school districts and higher educational institutions still are not fully Y2K ready, according to fall Education Department survey data.

Four percent of school districts said they would not be compliant by Jan. 1, when computers may misread the zeros in old, two-digits date fields as 1900 rather than 2000.

51 DAYS REMAIN

With 51 days to go until the date change, contingency planning is critical to contain and minimize disruptions that may result from Y2K failures, he said.

"The fact that major disruptions are not expected does not mean that people shouldn't be prepared for glitches that may develop -- and they should not wait until the last minute," Koskinen said.

Overall, the council said it had "a high degree of confidence" in the Y2K readiness of financial services, electric power, telecommunications, air and rail travel, oil and gas, and the federal government.

As of Sept. 30, 99.6 percent of federally insured financial institutions had completed testing of critical systems for Y2K.

Similarly, bulk electric suppliers report that more than 99 percent of "mission-critical" systems were Y2K ready as of October, the report said.

Koskinen said it was unlikely there would be "major national failures or breakdowns" in the United States. He cited predictions by the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department that Russia, Ukraine, China and Indonesia may suffer "significant failures."

"It is also worth noting that not every Y2K problem will be evident on Jan. 1," Koskinen said. "Difficulties in systems that are not Y2K ready may not surface until days or weeks after the date change."

====================================== End

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), November 10, 1999

Answers

Ray:

This must have come from Koskinen's identical twin.

It can't be from the real Koskinen, who is widely known, loved, and trusted, because a mere matter of days ago this very same news wire [Reuters] was conveying his very much more sombre warning to us... Reuters, 11/4/99

U.S. Y2K Adviser Terms Glitch Chronic

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton's chief adviser on the Year 2000 technology glitch warned the nation Thursday that Jan. 1 would not mark the end of Y2K-related concerns.

At the same time, a working group led by the Treasury Department voiced concerns about the Y2K readiness of key public and private institutions and the infrastructure of many countries including China, India, Russia. The President's Working Group on Financial Markets cited concerns about small- to medium-sized enterprises worldwide, including in the United States, and about ``the financial sector in several small European markets'' that it did not name.

``One risk is the potential for a 'domino' systemic effect brought about by significant disruptions to these groups because of the Y2K rollover,'' said the working group, which consists of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Many of the countries that are least prepared for the Year 2000 are important energy exporters, said the report, prepared at the request of Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee.

Energy Exporters Threatened

``Any significant disruptions from the century date changeover that impact (the energy) industry locally could have a negative impact on the U.S. and global economies,'' the report said. It cited Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria, Algeria, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Angola, and Colombia as among energy exporters that ``may experience disruptions tied to Year 2000.''

John Koskinen, Clinton's Y2K czar, told Congress that one of the most troubling Y2K myths ``is the notion that January 1 is a seminal date on which everything, or nothing, Y2K-related will occur.''

In testimony to a joint hearing of House of Representatives subcommittees, Koskinen said Y2K problems ``can happen any time a computer that is not Y2K-compliant comes into contact with a Year 2000 date -- before or after January 1.''

Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 conversion, said experts would have to monitor automated systems ``well into the new year for flaws in billing and financial cycles and possible slow degradations in service.''

``So I think it is important for the public to know that January 1 is just one of the important dates in the life of the Y2K issue,'' he said.

Koskinen said *basic U.S. infrastructure* was ready for Jan. 1, when unprepared computers could crash if they misread the last two zeros in the date field and mistake 2000 for 1900.

U.S. Perfection Impossible

But not every system will be fixed in time, ``and no amount of testing can ensure perfection,'' he said. He noted that a few federal agencies encountered glitches -- even in systems that had been fixed and tested -- when fiscal 2000 began on Oct. 1.

``We also expect failures in sectors where large numbers of organizations were late in starting or, even more troubling, are taking a wait-and-see approach,'' Koskinen said....

[ENDS]

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), November 10, 1999.


John, It gets tougher and tougher to keep up with the SPIN TEAM.

I'm sure they will be able to say "I Told You So" no matter what happens, slippery little fellows that they are.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@tottacc.com), November 10, 1999.


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