IP: "Incompatible software" blamed for phone-book fiasco : Risks Digest 20.90

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 11:39:08 PDT
>From: "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann@csl.sri.com>
>Subject: "Incompatible software" blamed for phone-book fiasco
>
>Pacific Bell has apparently printed 400,000 new phone books that include
>names, phone numbers, and addresses of telephone customers who are supposed
>to be unlisted.  The California state public utilities commission has
>granted a request from Cox Communications for a restraining order against
>Pac*Bell.  Incompatible software is blamed, but perhaps it was human error
>in forgetting to remove the protected fields from a retrieval request?
>Perhaps one of our RISKS-reading insiders can enlighten us.