Subject: Cashless Society and Y2K Problem
Date:    Fri, 3 Apr 1998 00:29:38 +0000
To:      "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"heb_roots_chr@geocities.com

 

From:           Eddie Chumney
Subject:       Cashless Society and Y2K Problem
To:            <HEB_ROOTS_CHR@geocities.com>

*************************************************************************


MARK OF THE BEAST

CASHLESS SOCIETY LEGISLATION 

Bankers' Bill Gives Go Ahead for Biometrics in Banking 

"Digital Signature and Electronic Authentication Law (SEAL)"

A bill was introduced in the U.S.  Senate on March 2, 1998, by
Senator Bennett which, if enacted will, set the stage for the
coming cashless society.  Once the electronic financial
transaction "authentication" technologies are legitimized (which
this bill will do) the totally electronic financial transaction
system will be off and running.  The bill is cosponsored by
Senator McCain. 

Senator's Bennett's bill is referred to as the "SEAL" bill, which
stands for "Signature and Electronic Authentication Law." What
the bill does is authorize banks and financial institutions to
establish electronic funds transfer systems which rely on
"identity authentication" for conducting financial transactions.

Totally electronic transactions will necessitate the use of
either digitized biometric data submitted by a customer on demand
at the point of the transaction (such as fingerprints and retina
scans), or else the use of embedded microchips which can
electronically store a customer's "electronic signature."
However, in this case, the "signature" is not referring to a
traditional written signature.  It is, instead, an electronically
stored representation of any one of an individual's many unique
identifying attributes, referred to as "biometric" identification
data. 

This bill is pretty much a "blank check" for the banking industry
with regards to electronic authentication technology.  It
basically says that if the banking industry establishes a
financial transactions system which incorporates technologies to
authenticate a document and the document's originator
"electronically," it will be OK for them to use it.  This bill is
just that broad.  Rest assured, the banking community has already
placed their "SEAL" of approval on Senate bill 1594.  From Scott
McDonald - mcdonald@XXXX.org


ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

70% OF ASIAN BUSINESS EXPECTED TO SUFFER OR FAIL: Unisys Y2K
expert foresees massive social implications 

by Nick Wilgus Bangkok Post February 4, 1998

Upwards of 70% of businesses in Asia will either fail outright or
experience severe hardship because of the Year 2000 Problem(Y2K),
according to Unisys Y2K expert Phillip Dodd, who was in town last
week to participate in the Y2K Fair staged by Nectec.

During an interview, Mr Dodd said there would be massive social
implications - severe unemployment, social unrest, businesses
failing left and right.  "The current Asian currency crisis will
look like a holiday in comparison," he said.

MILLENNIUM BUG CAN'T BE STOPPED, SAYS U.K. EXPERT

By Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent - London Telegraph
3/27/98

It is now too late to fix the Millennium computer bug and urgent
contingency plans are needed to limit damage to the national

infrastructure, the head of a former Government advisory body
said yesterday.

On the eve of a speech by Tony Blair on Government proposals to
tackle the Millennium bug, Robin Guenier, who was the head of
Taskforce 2000 under the former Tory government, said that a
satisfactory outcome was now impossible.  He said that correcting
the bug was even more complex than originally thought and most
companies had made no preparations.  Gwynneth Flower, the
director of Action 2000, set up by the Labour Government to
advise on the bug, has said that it is "a problem that could
bring down a government".

With only 20 months until 2000, only 16 per cent of public sector
companies have started to convert software.  Computer experts say
the bug-fixing must be completed by the end of this year to allow
1999 for testing.  Already, several systems, including credit
cards that expire in 2000 or beyond, have failed. 

Mr Guenier said that, despite widespread warnings, business,
industry and the Government had failed to take the issue
seriously.  "Significant numbers of large companies do not have
it under control," he said.  It is, put quite simply, too late. 

The outcome will range from inconvenience to disaster." Mr
Guenier called on the Government to "unambiguously confirm that
we are now dealing with an emergency" and draw up appropriate
contingency plans.

*************************************************************************
1