FC: Slovenian official resigns over Y2K advice

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

*********

[I will be on KPFA 94.1 in the Bay Area today at 12 pm PT to talk about
online privacy. Webcast at http://www.kpfa.org/. Many politech members
submitted the following article. Thanks. --DBM]

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> From: Paul McMasters <Pmcmasters () freedomforum org>
> To: "Declan McCullagh (E-mail)" <declan () well com>
> Subject: Y2K abroad
> Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 10:44:57 -0500 
> X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)
>
> Declan, I don't know whether these items, passed along to me by my colleague
> Gene Mater, would be of interest to Politech or not. Your call.
>
> -pkm
>
> ------------------------------------------
> Slovenian official resigns over Y2K advice
> ------------------------------------------
> A senior official responsible for dealing with the millennium transition
> in Slovenia has resigned following media charges that he exaggerated the
> risks of the Y2K computer bug.
>
> Bojan Usenicnik, head of the Office for Protection and Rescue, came
> under fire for recommending last week that Slovenians buy emergency
> reserves of food, water, batteries, candles and medicines.
>
> The former Yugoslav republic has so far reported no problems involving
> computers failing to recognise the year 2000.
>
> In a statement Mr Usenicnik rejected the criticism but nevertheless said
> he would step down. ''After yesterday's television report...and
> following other commentaries, I have decided to resign,'' he said.
>
> He said his office, one of the main government agencies responsible for
> the Y2K problem, had issued the same advice as similar agencies in other
> countries.
>
> ''Our recommendations were no different from those in developed
> countries,'' Usenicnik said.
>
> His resignation will only be valid if accepted by Defence Minister
> Franci Demsar.  
>
> Source: http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=122482 - Central Europe
> Online / Reuters
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> Belgian newspaper creates its own Millennium Bug
> ------------------------------------------------
> The front page of Belgian national newspaper La Libre Belgique was
> deliberately printed in scrambled and illegible type Monday in a jibe at
> the absence of millennium-related computer chaos.
>
> ''At the Libre Belgique...a computer problem suddenly hit the page
> layout system around midnight,'' the paper said in one of the few
> legible lines in an otherwise meaningless muddle of letters.
>
> Like most Belgian papers, La Libre Belgique led with the story that the
> ''bugalypse'' - an apocalypse caused by the millennium bug - had not
> surfaced as feared.
>
> In the absence of any major computer problems caused by the date change
> from 1999 into 2000, La Libre Belgique made almost its entire front page
> illegible and even had a photograph of midnight revels seeming to melt
> down the page.  
>
> Source:
> http://www.mediacentral.com/channels//allnews/01_03_2000.rittz0620-story-bct
> echykbelgium.html - Media Central / Reuters
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> Old browsers stop Swedes using Internet banking
> -----------------------------------------------
> Thousands of Swedes were unable to access their bank accounts over the
> Internet following the turn of the year because they were using outdated
> browser software, banks said Monday.
>
> Bank spokesmen said the problem affected some 100,000 people, about 10
> per cent of Sweden's online banking customers, who had not upgraded
> their browsers to the latest versions.
>
> They said it was not the millennium bug that stopped people accessing
> their cash or investment balances but the fact that they were using a
> version of the Netscape browser due to expire at the end of 1999.
>
> The Netscape homepage warns users of older browsers that the programme's
> security certificate, used for Internet banking, expired on December 31.
>
> Swedish banks are world leaders in Internet banking and the country
> boasts one of the highest levels of Internet connections.
>
> Handelsbanken and Finnish-Swedish banking group MeritaNordbanken said
> they had not experienced any problems. Swedbank said it took measures
> ahead of the year-end to ensure browser software was upgraded.  
>
> Source:
> http://www.mediacentral.com/channels//allnews/01_03_2000.rittz0714-story-bct
> echyksweden.html - Infobeat / Reuters


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