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From owner-ignition-point@majordomo.pobox.com Tue May 19 10:29:02 1998 Subject: IP: NSA concerns could hamper DOD Y2K fix
Source: Federal Computer Week http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1998/0518/fcw-frontnsa-5-18-1998.html NSA concerns could hamper DOD Y2K fix BY BOB BREWIN (antenna@fcw.com) HEATHER HARRELD (heather@fcw.com) DANIEL M. VERTON (dan_verton@fcw.com) The National Security Agency has slapped a security blanket on the Pentagon's efforts to fix the Year 2000 millennium bug, which could further slow the Defense Department's already-behind-schedule Year 2000 fixes. NSA has determined that all information detailing DOD's computers and its efforts to fix the Year 2000 problem are a "national security interest" and "highly sensitive." As a result, the Pentagon has cut off the military services and DOD project offices from the Defense Integrated Support Tool (DIST) database, which the Defense Information Systems Agency maintains to provide details on all DOD computer systems and interfaces for use in planning and deployment. DIST, according to DISA, is a database of some 9,000 DOD systems that the department uses to track such key areas as system interfaces, compliance with high-priority standards, interoperability testing, consolidation goals and Year 2000-compliance planning. DIST was seen as critical to the Year 2000 problem because it provides a central source of information about interfaces between different DOD systems, which is a chief concern of Year 2000 conversion efforts. DOD began using DIST to track Year 2000 compliance in August 1996, and a Dec. 19, 1997, memo from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to DOD chief information officers identified DIST as the "central, authoritative database for tracking resolution of the Year 2000-related problems for systems throughout the department." That aggregation of extensive details about Year 2000 problems with DOD systems poses a threat to national security, according to NSA. "The DOD's Y2K conversion effort is a national security interest," NSA reported in a statement supplied to FCW. "All information detailing these information systems and the progress being made toward their conversions is considered to be highly sensitive." DOD is not trying to cover up information about its Year 2000 efforts, a DOD spokeswoman said. "We couldn't hide what we're doing if we wanted to, and we certainly don't want to," she said. "The idea is to move these fixes along at the fastest possible clip but not to jeopardize other security measures as we do it." While industry and service sources said they could understand NSA's security concerns, they said the classification could hobble the Pentagon's already-delayed Year 2000 remediation efforts. One former high-ranking DOD official described the classification issue as symptomatic of what he called the Pentagon's "gross mismanagement" of Year 2000 issues. [snip of 90 lines] ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************