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June 2, 2000
   
The Y2K bug may have an unexpected final bite. As thousands of companies hired anyone who even looked like a software expert to hunt through their software to look for two-digit dates, a few criminals, opportunists, and unscrupulous individuals took advantage of the situation. A small number of such software consultants left behind back doors which they could use later to steal key business information. Others, perhaps as a lark, left behind programs that activated themselves later to cause system shutdowns, damaged data, or prank messages. Canada reports an unusual number of problem cases involving foreign (specifically Indian and Chinese) programmers who are suspected of such activities.--Stephen V Cole