Russia has yet to take seriously the millennium computer bug problem–known in the West as Y2K–and could face catastrophic consequences if it doesn’t act quickly, say U.S. and Russian business representatives.
Their warnings followed alarms by the U.S. Defense Department that difficulties overcoming the problem in Russia could cause “nightmare” military scenarios.
“The effect on businesses in Russia will be catastrophic if computers are not fixed before Jan. 1 in the year 2000,” said Scott Blacklin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce.
“The year 2000 issue can be solved if planning and fixing starts now,” he told a news conference held Wednesday to launch a campaign to raise awareness among government and business officials.
Experts say Russia should face less of a problem than Western nations because it has far fewer computers and because older Soviet computers were designed differently.
