The SF Chronicle (7 Feb 86) had an article on what was "perhaps the biggest
banking blunder ever" (despite the Bank of New York just having had a $32
billion screw-up, reported in RISKS-1.31).  On 21 January 1986, the Fed was
testing its computers and accidentally transferred $2B to 19 financial
institutions.  A weekend test session had been constructed using 1000 actual
transactions from the previous Friday.  The test program and data were
accidentally left around, and thus the transactions were repeated on Monday
morning.  As opposed to the $32B case, all of the money was recovered, and
no actual losses were incurred.  A spokesman "stressed, however, that $2
billion represents only 2 percent of the funds handled by the Fed each day."
(... peanuts ... chicken-feed ...?)  In the future, testing will be done with
make-believe transactions and fictitious account numbers.  Six employees
deemed responsible were suspended without pay for three days.

   [Thanks to W. Randolph Franklin 

 Washington D.C. Analyst's Password Game [more on RISKS-2.10]
the tty of Geoffrey S. Goodfellow 
15 Feb 1986 05:39-PST
a010  2248  14 Feb 86
PM-Password, Bjt,0580
Disgruntled Computer Analyst Asks D.C. Children To Solve Money Mystery
By DIANE DUSTON
Associated Press Writer
    WASHINGTON (AP) - A disgruntled former District of Columbia employee
who hid the code word to computerized city accounts is inviting
children to try to find the password by playing a game he is placing
in a newspaper.
    Alvin C. Frost, an accountant for the city, said Friday he would
have clues published in The Washington Post this Sunday to a code
word he used to hide accounts in the city's computer system.
    The game is the latest twist in an ongoing dispute between the
district and Frost, who hid the accounts because of what he says are
mismanagement and improprieties in the city's finance office. He has
not accused officials of criminal wrongdoing.
    Frost, who worked for the city's office of financial management 3 1/2
years, resigned Friday.
    The accountant is asking children 12 years old and under to guess
the password based on the clues and win a tour of the monuments,
White House, Capitol, and Supreme Court and lunch in a downtown restaurant.
    ''Kids like to be involved in what is going on in the news,'' Frost said.
''Maybe this little game will get people involved in what's going on.''
    Though city officials say computer experts helped them crack the
code and regain access to the hidden accounts, Frost said he doesn't
think they know the password he used.
    ''Right now, they don't know. They don't know what's in the
computer,'' said Frost, who says he designed the computer program
used to manage the city's cash.
    Frost said there may be a ''tapeworm,'' or malfunction, in the
city's computer that could consume files if the word is not discovered.
    ''I planted the seed (to such a malfunction). Whether it actually
exists, they'll have to find out,'' said Frost.
    He was stripped of all his responsibilities after he devised the new
code word and refused to tell his superiors.
    He said he was resigning effective March 15, ''for historical and
literary reasons,'' a reference, he said, to the Ides of March, when
Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of trusted friends.
    ''I've done my job,'' said Frost. ''Now it is time for the people to
get involved.''
    Frost gave reporters a chance to figure out the password by offering
these clues:
    -It has seven characters.
    -It has two syllables.
    -It's a real word.
    -All the characters are letters.
    -The word is not in the Declaration of Independence.
    -But the first syllable is used four times in the Declaration.
    -And, it is what the Declaration really means.
    At the news conference, a reporter guessed ''freedom,'' but Frost
wouldn't confirm it as the password.
    Officials did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday after
Frost announced he would resign.
    He said that last October he was questioned by the FBI and IRS about
operations in the office. He said the IRS was ''looking to trace the
trail of possible payoffs,'' but he would give no further details.
    Frost changed the password to some computer accounts after someone
entered the system and made copies of a letter he had written to
Mayor Marion Barry Jr. with his complaints.
    He was stripped of his responsibilities, though not fired, when he
refused to tell his superiors the code word.

AP-NY-02-15-86 0147EST



 Re: Boeing 767 EFIS -- compare Airbus A320
Rob Warnock 
Fri, 14 Feb 86 02:53:46 PST
Alan Marcum 

 Networks Pose New Threats to Data Security [InfoWorld-86/2/10]
Werner Uhrig 
Thu 13 Feb 86 04:32:42-CST
  "As local area networks become more commonplace in the corporate computing
  environment, the possibility of prying eyes gaining access to your data is
  significantly increased.  And the spy is likely to be someone who knows you
  well."

[ nothing earth-shaking or new, just interesting to see what issues the
"popular press" pulled into the spotlight. ]




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