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White House Readies Y2K Center

Updated 2:58 AM ET November 9, 1999

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House lifted the veil Monday on a $40 million operations center designed to track how the world fares as it enters the technologically challenging Year 2000.

The center, in old Secret Service premises two blocks from the White House, will launch 24-hour operations on Dec. 28 continuing through the first few days of the new year or longer if conditions warrant.

Brian Kilgallen, head of the center's public outreach arm, told reporters that Y2K-tracking operations "probably" would continue at a reduced pace until March 15 to monitor any Leap Year complications for automated systems.

Jokingly dubbed the Y2K "bunker" by congressional staff members, the facility is on upper floors at 1800 G St. N.W. It will coordinate data collected by existing government emergency centers and, for the first time, the private sector.

Arrangements have been made for the sharing of centralized information by the following industries: electric power, banking, finance, telecommunications, oil, gas, airline, pharmaceuticals and retail industries.

The Information Coordination Center (ICC), as the project is formally known, is being set up by the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, headed by John Koskinen, a presidential assistant.

The ICC will receive international status reports from the State Department, Pentagon, U.S. intelligence agencies and private sector information centers, he told Congress last week.

Koskinen has said basic U.S. infrastructure is 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.

ICC TO SERVE AS BRIEFING FACILITY

In the days surrounding the century date change, the ICC will also serve as a briefing facility for the United Nations-backed, World Bank-funded International Y2K Cooperation Center, which is coordinating the work of national Y2K coordinators worldwide.

In addition, it will work with the National Infrastructure Protection Center, the FBI-led cyber crime detection operation, and computer emergency response teams in the United States and abroad to monitor unauthorized computer intrusions, Koskinen told two House panels on Nov. 4.

Information gathered by the ICC will be the basis for regularly updated national and international status reports provided to federal decision-makers. But the center itself will not be involved in decision-making, Koskinen has said.

Mindful of conspiracy theorists, he dismissed as a myth the notion that the federal government was planning to use the Y2K issue as an excuse to "take control" of key institutions in the United States.

Kilgallen said status reports would be provided to the public about once an hour start starting shortly after 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT) Friday, Dec. 31, when New Zealand becomes the first industrial country to ring in the New Year.

Comprehensive, on-camera briefings by Koskinen were tentatively scheduled to take place about once every four hours, Kilgallen said.

The center's operations are headed by Peter Kind, a retired Army lieutenant general.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), November 09, 1999

Answers

I can hear Koskinen now, "We have unsubstantiated reports that my hair is on fire. But I will need positive proof before I believe it."

"Comprehensive, on-camera briefings by Koskinen were tentatively scheduled to take place about once every four hours, Kilgallen said."

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), November 09, 1999.

Could someone tell me what they are going to have this information center equipped with that is going to cost $40 million? To only use for a week? I mean, I think a central info center is a good idea, but $40 million? That's alot of donuts and coffee.

-- lilsparky (star@dmcom.net), November 09, 1999.

sparky,

You must not know the costs of some "heavy" equipment that is out there. While 40M does seem large at first glance, the money could be quickly eaten up by the costs of hardware for an entire data center. Then you consider the network and the like.

I do think that the center will be operational for more than just a week. They may not have it manned 24x7 for the duration, but seems like they will be there well into 2000.

Another thing to think about. With them spending so much for the technology for this center, what are the odds that they will acutally shut it down. From where I'm at, and what I've seen, once you deploy something, it never goes away.

-- (cannot-say@this.time), November 09, 1999.

Arrangements have been made for the sharing of centralized information by the following industries: electric power, banking, finance, telecommunications, oil, gas, airline, pharmaceuticals and retail industries.

The fed NEVER drops a plum like this once they have it. No, it will never be shutdown. Not the slightest chance.

-- (...@.......), November 09, 1999.