BANKING Y2K EMBEDDED SYSTEM ISSUES: (Revised 10/27/97)
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The Small Business Advisor
I recently called my bank and asked if I should be concerned about the Y2K problem. I was told they are "working on the problem" and they "hope" to be ready by 12/31/99. I asked if my money was safe and was told to call back in a few months to check how they were doing! They admitted that during their work on this problem, they found that their vault would not have opened after 12/31/99.
isquare.com
TexasNews.com
But what about elevators, PBX phone systems or bank vault doors with computer chips that base some of their activities on dates? Barton said at least one Texas bank found that it's vault door worked not only on a timing system, but a date-timing system. It just might
not open on 1-1-00.
texnews.com
Santa Barbara Business Digest: A Banking Nightmare
At Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, which serves Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, the problem first surfaced seven years ago. Says Al Todd, vice president and systems manager, "When we tried to issue 10-year certificates of deposit in 1990, we had no way to key in the year 2000. We'd wind up with a CD that ended 90 years ago."
The bank's concerns include 500 PCs in its 15 offices, security systems, date-driven time locks, cardkey access, even heating and ventilation systems. Plus, of course, all deposit operations are also at risk.
"Will our vaults open on Jan. 1, 2000?" questions Abts. "It's an enormous undertaking. I know of one bank whose systems vendor cannot support the needed changes. They'll have to find a new vendor - and change all their systems."
bdigest.com
Y2K Strategy Group: Dept of Computer Science Univ of Durham U.K.
There are already many anecdotes. For example, the bank whose secure vault can only be opened at times determined by in-built software, which is designed not to be easily changed/replaced! Question: why will the vault remain locked from 2000 to 2080?
This seems to be one of very few software issues that has attracted the personal attention and interest of the deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Science & Technology. And one which has been the subject of briefing meetings for senior civil servants. (all this
"allegedly" of course).
year2000.co.uk
BANK VAULT PROBLEM: It starts on a Saturday. Some software is designed to carry out specific instructions based on the day of the week, such as opening a bank vault on a Monday. If the computer calculates the day of the week by using the last two digits (which many do), it will assume Jan. 1, 2000 is a Monday because Jan. 1, 1900 was a Monday.
winmag.com
This Does Not Have to be a Major Problem
There is a story floating around the net about a bank with a huge vault door with an embedded chip that is impossible to reach unless the door is taken off its hinges. In order to take the door off, the whole wall of the bank must be opened up costing over a million
dollars. This is probably an apocryphal story because I can't imagine anyone designing a vault door with chips you can't get at. After all, sometimes these things fail on their own. If this was the case however, the bank could still solve its vault problem for less than a
hundred thousand dollars by posting an armed security guard at the vault 24 hours a day for a whole year. If it doesn't work, just leave the damn thing open.
year2000.com
Bank Critical Systems that Depend on Automated Devices:
Security systems for badge readers, surveillance and security systems, bar code readers, automatic teller machines, HVAC systems and vaults. In its Supervisory Notice of May 6, 1997, the FFIEC(Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) put embedded systems such as this on the checklist of items that bank examiners are now to ask depository institutions about during the annual bank examination. Other products that rely on embedded computer microchips include telephone systems, video recorders, sprinkler systems, parking lot gates, elevators and air-conditioning systems, etc. |
