People, not computers, may be worst Y2K problem

Former military and intelligence officials warned Thursday that people, not computers, might be the source of the worst year 2000 problems.

"We expect that a certain number of people are going to short circuit," said Neil Livingstone, CEO of Global Options, a crisis management company. "The millennium has a powerful pull on a lot of people."

Livingstone warned that while companies have focused on repairing their computers to fix the Y2K glitch, they haven't paid enough attention to the ripple effect of Y2K crises outside of the United States.

"Prudent companies need to look beyond fixing their own computers," he said.

Global Options, a crisis management company organized to "resolve difficult business problems" such as kidnapping, terrorism, and cyberwar, is recommending that companies focus on damage control, prepare for problems outside the company's control, identify potential threats, establish a command center, and stock up on supplies and equipment.

Livingstone warned that terrorists, apocalyptic cults and hackers could use the 2000 date change to attack when companies, governments and the public are most vulnerable.

"Because there's so much significance attached to the year 2000, this is an invitation to terrorists and crazies to come out with the biggest bomb," he said.

Jack Gribben, spokesman for the President's Council on Year 2000, said that the council has warned that hackers couldn't pick a worse time to try to break into computer systems, and doesn't expect a rampant problem.

"So many people are going to be on call looking for anything to come up," he said. Other senior advisers to Global Options include Admiral William Crowe, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and John Dalton, former Secretary of the Navy.