Friday, May 27, 2016
GAO: IRS's 1950s Computer System Is Federal Government's Oldest, Putting Taxpayer Information At Risk
Government Accountability Office, Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems (GAO- 16-696T):
Federal legacy IT investments are becoming increasingly obsolete: many use outdated software languages and hardware parts that are unsupported.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. For example, ... the Department of the Treasury uses assembly language code—a computer language initially used in the 1950s and typically tied to the hardware for which it was developed. ... The following table provides examples of legacy systems across the federal government that agencies report are 30 years or older and use obsolete software or hardware, and identifies those that do not have specific plans with time frames to modernize or replace these investments.
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2016/05/gaoirss-1950s-computer-system-is-federal-governments-oldest-putting-taxpayer-information-at-risk.html
Comments
I’ve often thought the reluctance of Congress to appropriate funds for the IRS might have something to do with the IRS’ sometimes spectacular inability to account for a large portion (60% +) the funds appropriated for some of its operations. I’d remembered reading about this long ago and here’s one example of what a quick search revealed.
Who wants to throw good money down a rat hole? And, of course, the current Commissioner has made lots of people unhappy.
Posted by: Joseph W Mooney | May 28, 2016 2:24:27 PM
Given how disasterous government attempts at creating computer systems, i.e. that for Obamacare, perhaps its better that the IRS and others struggle along with software that's decades old. At least it works.
Also, keep in mind that hardware often isn't the issue. Current business systems are designed to use computer code written in the 1970s, even assembly language code. The federal government isn't the only one using legacy systems. Quite a few large businesses do too.
http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Legacy-systems-continue-to-have-a-place-in-the-enterprise
Posted by: Michael W. Perry | May 29, 2016 4:33:28 PM