X
Home & Office

Millennium bug expert lashes 'fix' reports

Taskforce, the government-backed agency for dealing with the 'Millennium Bomb' bug threat today lashed out at reporting of the issue and claimed that the problem is bigger than AIDS.
Written by Martin Veitch, Contributor

"The immediate threat from the Millennium Bomb is bigger than BSE, global warming and AIDS combined. Irresponsible reporting is very unhelpful,'' said Robin Guenier, executive director of Taskforce 2000.

Guenier was responding to reports that Nicholas Johnson, a 14-year-old New Zealander, had 'solved' the problem.

"This story indicates a total misunderstanding of the matter," Guenier said. "There cannot be a single technical solution. As well as computers, it would have to cover, for example, the thousands of logic chips embedded in an oil platform or a power station - all have to be identified, checked and, if necessary replaced... Foolish stories that suggest there is a magic solution may send them back to sleep.''

Editorial standards