Among federal agencies operating the 10 most critical aged IT systems in government, only two have fully developed plans to modernize.
Nearly two years after the Government Accountability Office identified 10 legacy federal systems most critical to the respective agency’s mission and most in need of updating, eight of those agencies have yet to produce workable modernization plans.
The 10 systems range from 8 to 51 years old “and, collectively, cost about $337 million annually to operate and maintain,” according to a GAO report released this week. Beyond cost, the aging systems are “operating with known security vulnerabilities and unsupported hardware and software,” creating risks for the entire federal enterprise.
GAO did not release the names of the systems but offered an update on the planning process during a hearing this week held by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight.
“The American people pay the price of failing to modernize legacy IT systems,” Subcommittee Chair Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said. “The United States government ranks among the lowest industries in customer satisfaction. Over the past year in particular, my office has received hundreds of messages from constituents struggling to access” government services.
“Of the 10 agencies responsible for these legacy systems, GAO reported in June 2019 that seven agencies—the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, the Interior, the Treasury; as well as the Office of Personnel Management; Small Business Administration; and Social Security Administration—had documented plans for modernizing the systems,” the report states.
While most of the agencies developed a plan, only two—plans developed by the departments of Defens ..
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