Wednesday November 5 8:00 PM EST
Even U.S. leader faces 2000 computer bug -report
WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. agency widely seen as best prepared for the millennium computer problem could still run into difficulties when the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, a report released on Wednesday said.
The Social Security Administration (SSA), whose programs touch almost every family in the country, has not even assessed some of its critical computer systems, the report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) said.
''All I've heard before reading this GAO report is that the SSA is leading the pack and will meet the deadline without breaking a sweat,'' said Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
''Now the facts have been laid bare. There are mission-critical systems which haven't even been evaluated yet,'' the Iowa Republican said at a news conference to release the report he commissioned.
The glitch arises because many computers programmed in the 1960s and 1970s use only two digits to represent years. This would render 2000 indistinguishable from 1900, possibly throwing all aspects of life governed by computers into chaos.
The report by the Congressional watchdog said that, unless corrected, the bug could result in Social Security benefit checks being issued incorrectly or late.
''While SSA deserves credit for its leadership, the agency remains at risk that not all of its mission-critical systems -- those necessary to prevent the disruption of benefits -- will be corrected before Jan. 1, 2000,'' the report said.
In particular, some computer systems used by the 54 state Disability Determination Services (DDS) to help administer disability insurance programs have not been assessed.
Private contractors hired to work on 42 of the state disability agencies estimated that 33 million additional lines of software code must be assessed and renovated.
''Given the potential magnitude of this undertaking, SSA could face major disruptions in its ability to process initial disability claims for millions of individuals throughout the country,'' the report said.
Despite steps already taken, the Social Security Administration was still vulnerable to receiving inaccurate data through computer file exchanges with hundreds of federal and state agencies and thousands of businesses, it said.
The report said the agency first recognized the potential impact of the problem almost a decade ago, and had come to be regarded as the federal leader in addressing the issue. |
