December 2, 1999
Web posted at: 9:59 p.m. EST (0259 GMT)

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From Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI and the Pentagon are planning a special vigil as 1999 comes to a close, fearing both government and private sector computers could come under attack as the calendar changes to 2000.

Terrorists, hostile nations, criminals and recreational hackers could all launch assaults at the same time -- and could use Y2K malfunctions to hide their actions.

"It is not at all unreasonable to expect the people and the groups who engage in those activities every day might focus their activities at the same time around the date change," said Michael Vatis, head the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC).

Established at FBI headquarters in February 1998, the NIPC is the government's control center for threat assessment, warning, investigation, and response for threats or attacks against critical infrastructure.

Potential targets include computers that handle government agencies, banking transactions, utilities, transportation systems and communications networks.

While the FBI has not identified any specific threats, it is preparing a large-scale response.

24-hour command post planned

From December 29 through January 5, the FBI will maintain a 24-hour command post at its headquarters and run similar operations at all 56 of its field offices throughout the country.

A Pentagon monitoring station also will be on alert to guard against intrusions.

The intensive government response is, in part, a reflection of a growing trend. Every day there are 80 to 100 hacking attempts on Pentagon computers and still more on other government databases.

This year there have also been a number of virus attacks causing widespread disruption to private businesses.

Computer crime caseload growing

	VIDEO
Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas looks at what the FBI is planning now to counter computer hacking at the turn of the millennium Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

In fact, the FBI computer crime caseload has doubled each of the last two years. In October, the agency reported 800 pending cases.

"They have vulnerabilities even without the Y2K opportunity added on to them," said Richard Power of the Computer Security Institute. "So that's why there is activity about contingency plans."

Companies around the nation are taking the potential threat seriously.

"Y2K and concern about viruses and other cyber crime during this millennium transition is something that is very important to our customers," said Marc Soqol, senior vice president of Computer Associates, one of the largest providers of computer security software.

FBI officials don't want to scare the public, but, they say, high profile events like the millennium change are often a magnet for criminals, even those operating in cyberspace.

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