GAO Warns Congress About Imminent Danger from Older Computer Systems that are 23 to 60 Years Old in 10 Agencies Including Dept. of Defense

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

July 19, 2025

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) yesterday stated that “11 legacy IT systems at a total of 10 agencies, including two at the Department of the Treasury, and one each at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the departments of Interior, Transportation, Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS), Defense, Commerce, and Agriculture” had to immediately be replaced because these computer network systems were “between 23 years old (at the Interior Department) and 60 years old (at the Defense Department).”

Are you kidding me?? And yet the federal government through many of these same agencies is spending $billions on developing AI.

As I reported recently, tens of thousands of people are being laid off right now in the Technology sector, not because AI is replacing their jobs, but because SPENDING on AI projects is cutting out budgets for other technology projects. See: Has the AI Apocalypse Arrived? Tens of Thousands Being Laid Off in Big Tech – AI has to Either Replace Them or AI Spending Must Stop

In the case with these federal agencies’ legacy systems, as this report documents, many of them use older coding languages, such as COBOL, and there are very few coders using these older languages anymore.

All the money in IT now is being allocated for AI LLM development, building data centers, and developing new energy sources to power these data centers.

Well none of that is going to matter if critical IT networks already in place fail to protect and run our country, or are easily hacked, as there won’t be enough qualified technicians around to fix them, because they are going where the money is today, in the AI bubble.

Some excerpts from MeriTalk:

GAO Asks Congress to Require Agency IT Modernization Plans

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that Congress consider requiring major Federal government agencies to develop modernization plans for legacy IT systems that have been identified as among those most in need of overhauling.

In making that recommendation, GAO chided the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which it said has thus far “not taken action” on GAO recommendations offered nearly a decade ago for OMB to identify legacy systems and/or investments needed to modernize them.

“Given OMB’s lack of action, Congress requiring federal agencies to develop modernization plans for critical legacy systems can expedite agencies’ efforts,” the watchdog agency said.

Those are some of the bigger takeaways from the public version of a GAO report issued today in which the agency flags what it sees as “11 of the most critical federal legacy systems” at 10 of the larger Federal government agencies.

The report identifies those agencies by name but does not identify the specific worrisome systems at those agencies “due to sensitivity concerns.”

The watchdog’s report covers 11 legacy systems at a total of 10 agencies, including two at the Department of the Treasury, and one each at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the departments of Interior, Transportation, Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS), Defense, Commerce, and Agriculture.

The 11 legacy systems range between 23 years old (at the Interior Department) and 60 years old (at the Defense Department).

“These agencies’ missions are essential to government operations such as health care, critical infrastructure, tax processing, and national security, and these legacy systems provide vital support to the agencies’ missions,” GAO said.

Of the 11 legacy systems, GAO said that eight of them use outdated coding languages, four of them have unsupported hardware or software, and seven “are operating with known cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”

“For example, both of the Department of the Treasury’s selected systems run on Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL) and Assembly Language Code – programming languages that have a dwindling number of people available with the skills needed to support them,” GAO said.

“Until agencies fully document modernization plans for critical legacy IT systems, their modernization initiatives will have an increased likelihood of cost overruns, schedule delays, and overall project failure,” GAO warned.

“Project failure would be particularly detrimental not only because of wasted resources, but also because it would prolong the lifespan of increasingly vulnerable and obsolete systems,” the agency continued.

“This could expose agencies and system clients to security threats and potentially significant performance issues.”

Further, GAO said, “There are likely more legacy systems needing attention beyond what is highlighted in this report.”

GAO recalled that in June 2019, it identified 10 critical Federal legacy IT systems that were most in need of modernization, but that as of February 2025, agencies have completed only three of the 10 modernizations.

“Of the seven remaining modernizations, agencies planned to complete four in the next few years, two in 5 or more years, and one does not yet have a planned completion date.

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Via https://vaccineimpact.com/2025/gao-warns-congress-about-imminent-danger-from-older-computer-systems-that-are-23-to-60-years-old-in-10-agencies-including-dept-of-defense/