|
|
AUGUST 19, 1998 . . . 17:59 EDT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal report shows DOD miscalculated number of Y2K-compliant systems
BY BOB BREWIN (antenna@fcw.com)
The Defense Department has grossly overestimated the number of mission-critical systems that it reported as having fixed for the Year 2000 bug, according to a recent report released by the Pentagon's inspector general.
Of the 430 systems that DOD reported as Year 2000-compliant in November 1997, the IG found that only 109, or 25 percent, had been properly certified as Year 2000-compliant. The report on mission-critical systems criticized the armed services and Defense agencies such as the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) -- which operates DOD's worldwide networks, the Global Command and Control System and DOD mainframe processing centers -- "for not complying with Year 2000 certification criteria before reporting systems as compliant."
The report, which was publicly released last month, added, "Mission-critical DOD technology systems may unexpectedly fail because they were classified as Year 2000-compliant without [an] adequate basis."
Last week Secretary of Defense William Cohen tightened Year 2000 reporting requirements to ensure that DOD has accurate data on the compliance status of its systems, saying he would withhold funding for any system that does not have an accurate Year 2000 status report as noted in a central DOD database. Bill Curtis, the Pentagon's special assistant for Year 2000, criticized the services and Defense agencies for lack of accuracy in the systems' reports.
In another report, the IG reported that DISA's progress in completing Year 2000 fixes lagged and that DISA faces "increased risks that its information and technology systems may not operate properly in the Year 2000 and beyond.''
The report faulted DISA for failing to reach interface agreements for its key systems, including the global command and control systems fielded by major commanders worldwide. DISA also has not reached formal agreements on interfaces with telecommunications carriers that carry such networks as the global Defense Information Systems Network. The IG report said DISA management characterized reaching agreements with these commercial carriers as "unnecessarily time-consuming and bureaucratic'' because those systems "adhere to international standards.''
The IG report noted, "We agree that formal interface agreements for telecommunications be appropriate, but also recognize that DOD guidance does not provide for an exception for telecommunications systems.''
Zach Selden, policy associate for Year 2000 issues at Business Executives for National Security, said, "While international telecommunications carriers have a strong profit incentive to bring their systems into compliance, that is no guarantee they have done so.... DISA is responsible for ensuring its systems [can interface] with the commercial systems. They can't say it's someone else's problem.'' DISA Inspector General Richard Race said the agency considers Year 2000 to be its "No. 1 priority" and concurred with the need to complete interface agreements.