Costly and Archaic Technology Creates Risk for U.S. Government

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a testimony today regarding the federal government’s aging technology systems. The 28 page report was given before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and meant to address the spending risks of maintaining and operating decade-old computer equipment from 12 specific departments of the United States Federal Government.

Efforts to identify spending risks, instead identified larger issues of the government’s aging technology. One in particular is the Department of Defenses’ Strategic Automated Command Control System (SACCS), a system that, “coordinates the operational functions of the Untied States’ nuclear forces, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers, and tanker support aircrafts.”

The system currently runs on a 1970’s IBM Series/1 Computer, a system that hasn’t been manufactured since the mid-1980s and only operates using 8-inch floppy disks.

In efforts to modernize the SACCS, there are plans to update the Strategic Automated Command Control system through data storage solutions, port expansion processors, portable terminals, and desktop terminals. Yet, the United States government does not appear to be considering an entire overhaul of the use of the primitive computing system, which only leads to further questioning of the SACCS program.

It appears if our nuclear arsenal would need to be utilized, the military would have to operate with SACCS’s equipment, which is as old as some the military’s top generals.

The use of this kind of archaic technology is only more concerning when the nuclear capabilities of other countries, primarily Iran, North Korea, and Russia, are growing and becoming more advanced.

Such modernization concerns are not limited to defense systems.

The GAO report also noted that the U.S State Department does not have concrete plans to modernize its twenty-six year old Diversity Visa Information System. The DIVS system currently tracks and validates the application information submitted by foreign nationals under the Diversity Visa immigration program. This program is extremely important in determining the ability of foreign nationals to enter the United States, but the State Department has no concrete plans for modernizing the system nor “general plans to upgrade unsupported software to a new version.”

The report stated that the interface software required to use the program, called PowerBuilder, is no longer being supported by its vendor Sybase. Sybase, was purchased in 2015 by SAP, and after the buy-out, SAP outsourced PowerBuilder to Appeon in an attempt to improve the software. Dirk Boessmann, Senior Vice President of SAP, stated that Sybase had “fumbled” with PowerBuilder in attempts to modernize the product, errors that SAP felt the need to correct.

Despite industry concerns regarding Sybase’s PowerBuilder software, the State Department refuses to change the software, which if compromised, could allow foreign nationals not entitled to use the program entry into the United States.

Ultimately, the GAO’s conclusion is damning of many of the current fiscal practices of maintaining outdated technology being used by the federal government, but also indicates larger technological issues on the federal level. The report stated, “Federal legacy IT investments are becoming increasingly obsolete: many use outdated software languages and hardware parts that are unsupported. Agencies reported using several systems that have components that are, in some cases, at least 50 years old. OMB recently began an initiative to modernize, retire, and replace the federal government’s legacy IT systems. As part of this, OMB drafted guidance requiring agencies to identify, prioritize, and plan to modernize legacy systems. However, until this policy is finalized and fully executed, the government runs the risk of maintaining systems that have outlived their effectiveness.”

In essence, The GAO’s report reminds the federal government of the need to update and secure its technology as a means of both reducing spending habits and protecting information.

The United States government should prepare its computers under the assumption that foreign nationals have breached or are seeking to breach its firewalls and encrypted networks. Not only is operating under this worst case scenario strategic, it is necessary considering the increasing number of hacks that have occurred against high-profile U.S. companies, as well as the federal government.

In June of 2015, Chinese hackers managed to breach the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

After the breach, FBI director James Comey claimed that an estimated 18 million former and current federal employees may have had their personal information compromised. Similar hacks have the potential of occurring in unencrypted or outdated federal computer programs such as DIVS or SACCS, compromising the larger structures of national and military security.

With advancements in the sophistication of hacking techniques, it appears even more likely that the U.S. is vulnerable to cyber security threats, making modernization of federal technical equipment all the more imperative.