January 5, 2000
Web posted at: 5:05 a.m. EST (1005 GMT)

In this story: Spy satellite operation hampered through Sunday FAA investigates possible security issue Oak Ridge nuclear plant reports minor glitch Firearms data affected On guard for leap year RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Staff and Wire Reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Y2K computer bug briefly blinded some U.S. spy satellites as 2000 arrived, and disabled part of the Pentagon's efforts to monitor potential terrorist threats against the United States, CNN has learned.

The unexpected failure at a U.S.-based ground station came at the precise time -- during New Year celebrations -- when the United States was on heightened alert for possible terrorist attack. The U.S. spy satellite system was disabled for several hours by the glitch on Friday, as it was monitoring potential terrorist threats around the world.

MESSAGE BOARD Y2K bug     ALSO Y2K sites around the world Governments ready to fight cyber-crime in new millennium For more ITN millennium coverage, visit ITN on line.

Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre downplayed the incident: "It was a significant event, but fortunately it had insignificant consequences."

The United States has spent an estimated $100 billion on Y2K readiness over the past five years, according to U.S. Y2K chief John Koskinen. Around the world, governments and companies spent $200 billion to prevent a Year 2000 catastrophe, Koskinen said.

The Pentagon says the National Reconnaissance Office was able to restore its ability to process photos such as those taken of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden in Afganistan in 1998.

Officials would not disclose what the satellites were observing, but said the system operated at a diminished capacity, until late Sunday. Other intelligence gathering systems which monitor suspected terrorism kept working.

The super-secret nature of the satellites and their sensitive counterterrorism mission was offered as one explanation for the Pentagon's cautious handling of the information.

"I don't personally believe I owe an explanation for not telling people forthrightly we had a problem with a reconnaissance system," Hamre said. "I don't think I would have told you that at the time until I knew I had a fix.

"If it's (a choice between) trying to respect your right to file a story and my responsibility to protect the country, I'm going to protect the country," Hamre said, adding that "It was a remarkably successful weekend."

The Pentagon argues that the loss of the satellite system was really a Y2K success story, because contingency plans had technicians standing by to fix it right away.

In Washington, another potential security issue emerged in a report by congressional investigators, which said non-U.S. citizens had performed Year 2000 computer repairs on the U.S. air traffic control system. The computer workers had apparently not undergone background checks, investigators said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had taken immediate steps once alerted to the problem in mid-December. President Clinton's national security adviser has been asked to investigate the incident and any possible security lapses at other agencies.

Although federal officials say its Firearms Licensing System will be suspended for only five days to fix the problem, it could affect functions in other law enforcement agencies, particularly the FBI, which uses the system to verify licensed gun dealers.

In Tennessee, a glitch at the Oak Ridge nuclear weapons plant continued on Tuesday to affect a computer that tracks nuclear material at the Energy Department plant, an agency official said. But the facility operated safely and workers were able to track the material using an alternative system.

The failure affected the Dynamic Special Nuclear Materials Control and Accountability System at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. The problem in the software that automatically transfers data from the Oak Ridge system to DOE headquarters did not affect the actual system, so there was no risk to the nuclear weapons plant.

"In the context of things, this really was very minor," said John Gilligan, who oversees the department's computer systems.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms temporarily halted licensing businesses that sell firearms Monday after identifying a Year 2000 glitch that made it impossible for its computer system to read the correct date on their applications.

Although millennium bug watchers have begun winding down operations, some will stay at their posts to monitor how high tech handles its next chronological hurdle: The leap year bug.

In Washington, as the U.S. government's civilian Y2K monitoring effort shrank, 200 people were to remain on duty Tuesday, then taper down to about 30 by week's end, Koskinen said. Experts have cautioned that small, sporadic outbreaks could still crop up for days or weeks.

The 30 U.S. Y2K staffers are expected to remain on duty until February 28, when operations gear up again for the leap year bug. February 29 is potentially problematic because computers can have hiccups on leap years.

Most automated systems are programmed to know that years divisible by 100 are normally not leap years. The problem is whether programmers remembered the exception: years divisible by 400 -- such as 2000 -- are leap years.

In Turkey, six companies listed on the Istanbul stock exchange reported Y2K-related problems. They were suspended from trading but all later said they had fixed the problem or were taking steps to do so.

The West African country of Mali reported that monitoring of its railway system was disrupted by computer problems.

From Bangkok to Reykjavik, however, stock markets reported smooth trading without a millennium bug in sight.

CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and Reuters contributed to this report.

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