The Daily Herald from Chicago, Illinois • Page 17

Page 4 Bizta Monday, December 13,1999 US. agency will suspend Web site to shut out hackers Reuters WASHINGTON The U.S. government's personnel office, the nation's biggest, said it would interrupt its Internet services during the New Year weekend as a guard against computer hackers, power surges and other possible Y2K pitfalls. In what may be the first in a string of such precautionary moves by federal agencies, the Office of Personnel Management said it would bar access for "several hours" to the many data banks normally available from its home page, www.opm.gov. "We will use this time to check our systems in order to guarantee delivery of the high-quality service that you expect from us," the agency's director, Janice Lachance, said in a statement addressed to the 10 million current and former government employees and their families served by the site.

Instead of linking to information on federal employment policies, job listings, life insurance and other benefits, the home page will display a picture of Lachance and her explanation of the interruption, spokesman Jon-Christoper Bua said. "We're Y2K-OK," he said. "What we're doing is to preserve the integrity of the system" against potential threats from "computer hackers, power surges and other Y2K risks." Separately, an Internet service providers' group announced plans to keep its members in constant touch by a telephone conference link for at least 48 hours starting Dec. 31 to tackle any Y2K-related Internet problems as soon as possible. The telephone conference "bridge" dubbed "Silent Night" will link 20 to 25 Internet service providers, equipment vendors and others starting shortly before the new year arrives in New Zealand, the first industrialized country to usher in 2000, the Reston, Virginia- based Internet Operators Group said.

"Although we don't expect problems, by midnight on Dec. 31 in the U.S. we should be well aware of any issues that will impact the Internet," the group's executive director, Ira Richer, said in a statement. He said this would mark.the first such "real-time" cooperative effort to resolve potential outages and security incidents worldwide. The telephone conference bridge will be coordinated with a $50 mil.

lion Y2K-tracking center set up under White House auspices to monitor automated systems worldwide, Richer said. U.S. authorities are preparing for what they fear may be a surge in malicious computer activity aimed at possible security cracks linked to the Year 2000 computer glitch. Michael Vatis, the FBI agent who serves as the nation's top "cyber- cop," said in London this week that the interagency outfit he heads the National Infrastructure Protection Center would be on the alert although it had no hard evidence of any planned attacks. "It's natural to expect there might be people doing stupid things with computers," he said of possible cyber attacks timed to take advantage of any high-tech confusion sparked by the century date change.

The Defense Department, which is spending nearly $3.8 billion to prepare for the so-called Y2K glitch, is continuing to review its security arrangements for Internet connections during the calendar switch, said Susan Hansen, a Pentagon spokeswoman. "At this time, no decision has been made on whether to shut down or disconnect from the Inter- net any DOD systems," she said. The Agriculture Department has asked each of its in-house agencies to weigh whether their Web sites are critical to their mission during the weekend of Jan. 1 in light of security concerns. "Agencies are asked to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the integrity of our data up to and including shutting down the Web servers during the millennium weekend if necessary," said Susan McAvoy, an Agriculture Department spokeswoman.

Among the Agriculture Department's agencies are the Farm Service Agency, which administers farm programs; the Foreign Agriculture Service, which keeps tabs on foreign demand and prospects for U.S. exports; and the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which carries out meat inspec- i tions. A Croatian Railways train engineer climbs onto his diesel locomotive at the centra! station of the Croatian capital Zagreb. Associated Press Photo Croatia betting low-tech ways will save day against Y2K Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia With aging computers that may be vulnerable to Y2K glitches and no money to upgrade them, Croatia's state railway is counting on traditional methods like engineers' skill and common sense to make sure nothing goes tragically wrong come Jan. 1.

This country's old-fashioned railroad signal system may help, top: The cash-strapped state-run railway company never managed to computerize it. "In that sense, our backwardness is to our advantage," said Vlatka Skoric, a spokeswoman for the railway company. Government officials have pledged that no major problems will occur here at midnight Dec. 31, when some computers may confuse the year 2000 with 1900 and fail. Croat authorities insist that the assessment by a London technology consulting group that this country is one of Europe's least Y2K-ready is unjustified.

The government's Y2K control team has assured the public that hospitals, electrical systems and other utilities should function normally. Croatian Airlines, the national carrier, says it does not plan to cancel any flights. But in a sign that all may not be as rosy as advertised, Croatian Railways recently admitted that its 15-year-old computers "are sensitive on Y2K." Since the national train-tracking system is computerized, "some trains could get lost" after midnight Dec. 31, Mato Simunovic, the head of a computer company that cleans up Y2K bugs, told the newspaper Vecernji list. "No way," Skoric responded.

"Our job will be harder and slower, because we may be forced to do many things manually. But no train would be lost and the security of the traffic is not in question." The rail company has been preparing backup plans for a long time, Skoric said. But it only recently contracted Simunovic's firm to upgrade computer systems "because we have financial problems," she said. The railways, financed from the state budget, have been operating at a loss for years. "We are now fully prepared to do all the work manually, until computers are adjusted," Skoric said, admitting that the upgrade will likely not be done by Dec.

31. She said Croatian Railways has no plans to follow the lead of national rail companies in countries like France, Germany, Poland and Italy, which will temporarily halt their trains before midnight on Dec. 31. Croatian authorities will simply rely on pre-computer age skills. "Our locomotive engineers are smart enough to drive to the first station and call headquarters" if needed, Skoric said.

"There were no computers in the past, and phones were quite sufficient in keeping track of trains." That's assuming, of course, that the phones work. Some phone systems are vulnerable to Y2K bugs. Microsoft goes after Christian market Reuters NEW YORK Microsoft Corp. has seen the light Beset by secular troubles as it awaits the outcome of the government antitrust trial against it, the world's largest software maker announced a pact to deliver Christian programming on its media Web site at www. windowsmedia.com.

Crosswalk.com, an Internet media company catering to Christian believers, said its religious- themed programming would be featured on a Microsoft media Web site, lifting shares of the Chantilly, company by a heavenly 50 percent on Wednes- day when the deal was announced. The company, which trades under the Nasdaq stock market ticker "AMEN," said it had agreed to use Microsoft's software to deliver its audio and video programming. Crosswalk said it will use the software to deliver its programming both on its own Web site at www.crosswalk.com and as part of a guide within the Microsoft Win- dowsMedia site. The deal is part of Microsoft's efforts to accelerate consumer use of high-speed Internet programming services in the United States. Crosswalk said it would use Intervu transmission service to deliver its programming.

i Countries cross fingers, hope for best Daily Herald wire services ISLAMABAD, Pakistan In Pakistan it is not so much a question of whether anything will go wrong at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31 it's how much will go wrong. With the millennium bug nipping at their heels, the people whose job it is to prepare key services, like air traffic control, power supply and hospitals, are worried. In Pakistan, the correction process is way behind schedule. Lack of money has dogged Pakistan's efforts to upgrade its computers, said national Y2K coordinator Ijaz Khawaja.

The Oct. 12 military coup, which overthrew an elected government, has added to Pakistan's woes. In a worst-case scenario, airports could shut down, hospitals could be left struggling to get their patients on manually operated life-support systems and Karachi, the country's largest city, could be left completely in the dark. All that is unlikely to happen, said Khawaja. But with time running out.

systems untested and key equipment only partially inventoried, no one knows for sure. US. readies oil reserves in case of emergency WASHINGTON The Clinton administration said that oil prices have soared to "dangerously high" levels, and crude oil could be sold from the nation's emergency stockpile if already- tight supplies are disrupted by Y2K computer problems at the end of the year. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson sent to the White House last Thursday contingency plans for selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if necessary. "The president, if he deems it necessary, can sign these find- An employee of the Islamabad Stock Exchange downloads data from computers for backup as a precaution against the Y2K bug.

Pakistan has fallen behind in its Y2K remediation efforts. Associated Press Photo ings at the appropriate time and put our plans into action," Richardson said at energy conference. "This is not to suggest that there is a problem, only that we are prepared," Richardson added. Asia expects China to feel some glitches SHANGHAI Shanghai is largely prepared for the Y2K bug, but there could still be some hitches when China's commercial hub enters the millennium, city officials said. "The overall situation for Shanghai solving the year 2000 computer problem is good," said Zhang Qibiao, vice chairman of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.

"We can't say there will definitely be no problems, but our technical renovation work is done," he told a news conference. Shanghai had prepared 97 percent of the city's computers and embedded systems by the end of October with 99.6 percent of the systems of "key" organizations ready, Zhang.said He said the city spent more than $242 million to prepare for the potentially disabling problem for computers programmed to read only the last two digits of the year, which could crash by confusing 2000 with 1900. Mexico says exports won't stop flowing MEXICO CITY The lights are unlikely to go out on Dec. 31 in Mexico's hefty commodities and energy sectors, both of which appear well-prepared to feed world markets unhindered by year 2000 computer glitches. In the worst possible scenario, output of silver, oil, coffee, gold and sugar could grind to a spectacular halt if computers fail by misreading 2000 as 1900 because oftheY2Kbug.

But analysts are confident the country can see in the New Year with raw materials flowing smoothly to consumers that depend on Mexican supply around the globe. In addition, electricity suppliers and ports crucial to production and ensuring orders arrive are guaranteeing uninterrupted service. The substantial oil sector, a major source of fuel for the booming U.S. economy, has successfully completed trials to ensure computers tick over to 2000 without hitches. They also have contingency plans, including manually overriding critical functions, if computer systems do fail.

Venezuela wary about medical equipment CARACAS Ricardo Silva does not want to cause panic but the academic hired by the Venezuelan government as a millennium bug sleuth says Y2K could turn medical equipment in some hospitals into potential killers. Silva heads a team from Caracas's Simon Bolivar University contracted to hunt down medical devices not compatible with the Y2K fault in the country's more than 900 clinics. While Venezuela has spent up to $1 billion to ensure that strategic sectors like oil, electricity, telecommunications and banking are 100 percent ready, the government admits failures of medical equipment could represent a risk for the country. Equipment used to mix prescriptions, introduce drugs directly into a patient's blood or scan for disease could become deadly if the Y2K bug upsets their calibration, he said. South Park soon to be found on Web Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Starting in March, fans of the bawdy cartoon show "South Park" will be able to see an original animated series by the cartoon's creators on the Shockwave.com entertainment Web site.

Macromedia, the San Francisco-based software company that owns Shockwave.com, said Trey Parker and Matt Stone have signed a multiyear deal to create 39 two- to five-minute episodes. The cartoons will use the Flash format which, in general, allows for fewer stops and starts than streaming Internet video. Representatives of Parker and Stone said they have received "significant" equity in Shock- wave.com and will maintain creative control. Macromedia chief executive Robert Burgess said the series will help bring together the Internet's entertainment sector with 18-to-34-year-old Web surfers who are fans of the Comedy Central show. "Until now, virtually everything on the Web has been created for some other purpose TV, video games and then people used the Web as another way to market it," he said.

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