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DATE=1/13/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=BLIND SPY (L-UPDATE) NUMBER=2-258051 BYLINE=JIM RANDLE DATELINE=PENTAGON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Pentagon officials say a Y-2-K computer problem that temporarily blinded some U-S spy satellites did not harm U-S security. The officials were commenting on news reports that the problem lasted longer and was more serious than previously disclosed. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports, the breakdown ironically was caused by an attempt to prevent Y-2-K glitches. TEXT: Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon says the problem affected only a portion of the constellation of spy satellites the United States operates. It has been widely reported that the glitch made it impossible to make sense of [to interpret] data from some satellites that take pictures or use radar to peer through clouds. But Mr. Bacon says other sensors, that watch for ballistic missile launches and several other kinds of critical information, were not affected. /// BACON ACT /// The ability to monitor attacks on the United States, or potential attacks or preparation for attacks against the United States, we never lost that capability. /// END ACT /// Mr. Bacon says news accounts saying U-S intelligence was "blind" for a long period are wrong. But he admits one or more important systems were blinded for several hours, and myopic [partially affected] for more than two days. Previously, top Pentagon officials said their Y-2-K problem prevented a computer on the ground from interpreting masses of information sent down from some satellites. They say it took a couple of hours to set up a backup system to process some of the information from the satellites, and more than two days to repair the main computer system. Intelligence expert John Pike, of the Federation of American Scientists, says the broken spy system could have been a serious problem. /// PIKE ACT /// If there had been a major military crisis that weekend, that would have been a real problem. Fortunately, it was a slow weekend, and I think that the military managed to get through this problem OK. /// END ACT /// U-S intelligence agencies and many military units were on a heightened state of alert over the New Year's weekend, fearing that terrorists or others might take advantage of Y-2-K computer problems to launch attacks. // OPT // Computer experts were watching for so- called Y-2-K problems as the year 1999 switched to 2000, because it was feared some older computer programs might suddenly stop working. However, there were fewer problems worldwide than had been expected. // END OPT // Officials say they tried to prevent Y-2-K computer problems in the U-S satellite intelligence system by changing its programming. Instead, they apparently caused exactly the kind of breakdown they had feared. Mr. Bacon says experts tested each part of the Y-2-K program "patch," but never checked the entire system at once, because that would have required shutting down a critical computer. The U-S military spent three-point-six-billion dollars upgrading its computer software to avoid Y-2-K problems. Officials say the flawed intelligence system was the only "significant" problem to affect the Pentagon's millions of computers. (Signed) NEB/JR/WTW 13-Jan-2000 16:59 PM EDT (13-Jan-2000 2159 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .