United States Government Uses Outdated Computer Hardware and Software

Posted on June 21, 2016

In a recent report, the federal government stated that it invests more than $80 billion on IT annually, with a substantial portion of these funds spent on operating and maintaining existing IT systems.

Surprisingly, the Department of Treasury still uses assembly language code from the 1950s and typically uses hardware largely from the same era. In some instances, the federal government uses hardware and software that are 30 years old or older and are largely obsolete.

In another scary example, the Department of Defense uses hardware and software that is at least 50 years old to operate the nation’s nuclear forces, including the use of eight-inch floppy disks. The government is attempting to identify and prioritize IT systems that need to be modernized or replaced. Do you still use antiquated computers in your home? We think not.

It is shocking that the federal government is using antiquated and obsolete software and hardware to operate what we feel to be very important computer systems. What do you think?