Thursday, March 28, 2024

GOODIES TO GO! ™
July 26, 1999 — Newsletter #38

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GOODIES TO GO! ™
July 26, 1999 — Newsletter #38
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Please visit http://www.htmlgoodies.com
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Regarding last week’s Newsletter about Hackers and Crackers…


I made the statement that Hackers were those out to do harm
and Crackers were those who followed a code of ethics against
doing evil. Apparently my sources were outdated or just
plain wrong. Readers let me know, in no uncertain terms, that
I had the two backwards and provided a mountain of evidence
to back their point. The correct interpretation of the terms
is that Hackers are those who follow the code of ethics, not
wanting to cause harm, and Crackers are those who are out to
be malicious. Readers’ main concern was the media’s use of
“Hacker” as an all-encompassing term for people who do bad
things using computers. That’s not so. Apparently I got the
other stuff in the newsletter correct. My apologies.


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Greetings, Weekend Silicon Warriors,

Welcome to the new 2000. My content editor Lindy has informed
me that the Goodies to Go! Newsletter is growing at a rate of
about 2000 new subscribers per issue. Apparently those already
reading told two friends, and they told two friends, and so
on, and so on…


Did you hear…


>Amazon.com is now selling toys and electronics just in time
for the Christmas season? According to CEO Jeff Bezos, they
want to be a one-click shopping area. Will it work? In just
over a year Amazon took the CD sales top spot away from CD
Now. Toys next? Can one site really offer everything? We’ll
see.


Wireless Web is coming. Lucent Technologies now says they
have a system, WaveStar OpticAir, that can transmit 15 CD
ROMs full of information in a second. Field tests are under
way and I would think you could pick one up the middle of
next year. That is, if you have a serious pile of money.


>Just as computer files are easy to create — they are also
easy to erase. Representative Ron Klink, Democrat from
Pennsylvania, announced that some Medicare contractors are
“turning off software [and] losing claims” to defraud the
government. The claims were deleted so later false claims
could not be checked and denied. Fifty-eight companies are
being investigated over the allegations.


Now onto today’s topic…


You know, it’s all I can do not to write about Y2K. There is
just so much out there, and with the New Year approaching I
have to believe the press will only get bigger.


Usually the stories I read speak in generalities. This might
happen. Maybe this will happen. Now a rather well respected
company has set a figure in stone.


The Gartner Group, said to be the top Y2K research firm, came
out with a study last week that states that fixing Y2K will
cost businesses over 1 billion dollars.


No, I don’t mean that that’s what it will cost to fix it
all… that what will be stolen as a result of fixing it all.


Huh?


Conservative estimates state that between $300 and $600
billion will be spent worldwide in order to get computers up
to Y2K snuff. Some believe that the cost will be upwards of
one trillion after all of the legislation dust settles.


Here’s the concern: In many cases, the people who are being
hired to fix the Y2K problems are not only repairing the
dates, but are also programming themselves a trapdoor.


I remember when Y2K really started to come to the mainstream.
One of the stories I heard was that if bank vault computers
recycled (going to 1900 instead of 2000) then the bank would
be ripe for the picking as the first day of 1900 was a
weekday instead of a weekend day, as will be the first day
of 2000. The theory went that the vault would open, thinking
it was a business day, and present-day Billy-the-Kid’s would
be waiting to snatch all the loot, carrying it away in burlap
bags with big dollar signs on the side. That always sounded
like the latest Olsen’s film plot more than reality to me.


Nay, the criminals are too smart for that. Why get all
dressed up when you can steal from the privacy of your own
home? If I repair your system and place a “trapdoor” then I
can come and go as I please at some later date. Sound
impossible?


Mike Higgins of Para-Project Services can already relate
three trapdoors found in major corporations. He tells the
story of one high-tech firm that found the door, but when
they went back to question the company that did the work,
they had gone out of business.


Many consulting firms have piped up with the release of the
Gartner Group report, not to praise it but rather to proclaim
that it is way short of the mark. Many believe a billion
dollars might be only a percentage of what will be stolen
thanks to trapdoors left by those hired to fix Y2K problems.
Many of the companies possibly equipped with trapdoors move
eleven trillion dollars a year around financial institutions,
the government, and personal business.


Furthermore, trapdoors may not need to be set. Software
programmers are finding holes opening up, thanks to the
patches and fixes being offered to repair buggy commercial
software. I have to believe that if the professionals know
about the new holes, so do the bad guys.


Here’s something else to concern yourself with. If someone
can get into the system and steal, why can’t they get into
the system and control? We think of terrorism as bombing or
other methods of producing harm with the intent of producing
fear for one reason or another. Imagine what could be done
if the mainframe of a major company was held at bay.


Someone who doesn’t like a company’s business practices
could, rather than holding employees hostage, hold a system
hostage. Failure to comply with demands would mean the
immediate loss of all records and backups.


I have said from my first investigations into the Y2K matter
that the funny stories about elevators not working or Jeep
automobiles failing to start would not be the real story of
the New Year. My biggest concern was a run on banks, stocks,
and mutual funds. I was afraid people would take out all of
their money, leaving a lot of financial institutions empty.


Apparently banks are also concerned. Have you seen the
commercial for this new disposable Polaroid camera? A young
man goes to the ATM and puts his card in to take a photo of
his balance as the New Year countdown commences in the
background. At midnight the ATM burps and his balance becomes
over 4 million. He takes another picture and walks away.


Banks went bonkers. They claimed the spot undermined their
attempt to instill confidence in the public. I haven’t seen
the commercial in a while. Maybe it was taken off. My local
bank here in PA, has “We’re Y2K OK” signs everywhere. They
even answer the phone with the slogan.


It’s the home stretch. We’ve hit the halfway point of the
year. The Christmas-in-July sales are coming to a close. As
the months get colder, look for more and more stories about
Y2K. December should produce an avalanche.


It does make me nervous. Not the computer glitches, but what
will happen in response to the media’s reporting of possible
problems. I know it’s not possible, but it would be nice to
see one “we’re Y2K OK” story for every doomsday story that’s
about to come out.


The New Year really will be something to witness.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


And that’s that. Thanks for reading another one.


Joe Burns, Ph.D.


And Remember: The longest English words that can be typed on
a single row of qwerty typewriter keys are “perpetuity,”
“prerequire,” “proprietor,” and… “typewriter.”

Also– can you name the shortest word in the English language
to include the letters a, b, c, d, e, and f? Give me your
feedback.

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