From the Dow Jones Newswires.
August 10, 1999
Dow Jones Newswires
Report Claims Israel Ignored Warnings About Y2K Readiness
JERUSALEM (AP)--Israel ignored warnings to get its computers ready for the
millennium, and public systems may break down Jan. 1, a state comptroller's
report warned Tuesday.
The 80-page report echoed charges by legislative committees who have warned
for months that Israel failed to mount a unified effort to get public
agencies ready for the millennium.
"The problem is that they waited until the last minute, despite the fact
that the deadline...was well known," said Shlomit Lavi, a spokeswoman for
the comptroller's office.
The report accused the prime minister's office, which was supposed to
coordinate other agencies' computer readiness, of ignoring deadlines set by
the finance ministry. A new prime minister, Ehud Barak, was sworn in only a
month ago.
Former prime minister's chief-of-staff Moshe Leon said he had devoted
sufficient attention to the preparations during his tenure, insisting that
"the subject came up seriously."
The so-called Y2K bug is the problem caused when software programs and
microchips that keep track of the year with only two digits may misread the
year 1900 instead of 2000.
The comptroller's report warned that even vital systems like hospital and
security were vulnerable.
Last week, Israel announced it would set up a "war room" where police and
local officials would handle crises resulting from the bug.
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We now hear that there was no real unified effort in Canada and Isreal, both ranked as first tier countries along with the U.S. in compliance/preparedness. These revalations are called "a clue."
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