Year 2000 Plan Helps Virginia Protect IT Systems After Attack

Within hours of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack against the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, the Virginia Department of Information Technology secured its physical and virtual assets and began posting emergency-related information on the state Web site.

Virginia Secretary of Technology Don Upson said a plan devised for responding to possible year 2000 problems was the basis for emergency operations to protect the state's IT resources after the attack.

Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore declared a state of emergency at noon that day that prompted the Department of Information Technology to close its headquarters in Richmond and secure data centers throughout the state.

And by Tuesday noon, the Virginia Information Providers Network, which operates the state's official Web site, began posting special announcements from the governor to keep residents of Virginia informed of events as they unfolded.

"There was a great concern in the commonwealth to as to what was going on," said VIPNet General Manager Rodney Willet.

Since then, VIPNet has added links to a number of appropriate federal, state and nonprofit sites, including the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Virginia Department of Transportation.

The Department of Information Technology also established a call center Sept. 12 through which people could offer services to support rescue operations in both New York and Virginia, Upson said.