{"id":26271,"date":"2023-02-08T20:39:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T20:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/02\/08\/federal-agencies-stymied-by-ancient-it-infrastructure-staffing-woes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:57:47","slug":"federal-agencies-stymied-by-ancient-it-infrastructure-staffing-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/watchdogs\/2023\/02\/08\/federal-agencies-stymied-by-ancient-it-infrastructure-staffing-woes\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal agencies stymied by ancient IT infrastructure, staffing woes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal offices are mired with outmoded IT infrastructure, some dating back to nearly the 1950s, and by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/management\/2022\/09\/19\/staff-shortages-fueling-government-worker-burnout-survey-says\/\" target=\"_blank\">staffing shortages<\/a> that are greatly reducing their ability to meet customer needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government Accountability Office released its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-106441.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">third installment <\/a>of four reports on Feb. 7 that detail the main cyber areas the federal government needs to urgently address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Information security has been designated a government-wide risk since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/hr-97-1\" target=\"_blank\">1997<\/a>, later expanded to include protection of critical cyber infrastructure. The office has made more than 100 recommendations for agencies to strap down their IT protections since 2010, but as of December, more than half have yet to be implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IRS, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-104719.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">relies extensively on IT systems<\/a> to collect trillions of dollars taxes and disburse hundreds of billions of dollars worth of refunds. Its system of applications, software and hardware has aged, GAO says, which leaves vulnerabilities open for security risks, unmet mission needs, staffing issues and increased costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnalysis showed that about 33% of the applications, 23% of the software instances in use, and 8% of hardware assets\u201d owned by the IRS are considered legacy, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-23-104719\" target=\"_blank\">Jan. 12 report. <\/a>They range from \u201c25 to 64 years in age,\u201d with some software 15 versions behind the latest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such outdated equipment is a risk, GAO warns, as \u201cmalicious actors are becoming more willing and capable of carrying out cyberattacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond personally identifiable information, infrastructure programs that federal agencies maintain are at risk of catastrophes that can bleed out of Washington headquarters and affect municipalities, whether that\u2019s energy, transportation systems, communications or financial services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In line with government-wide modernization goals, the IRS put forth 9 initiatives to address legacy IT systems, but a majority of them failed to say how it would actually dispose of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another example of heightened cybersecurity risks for infrastructure is at the Department of Energy. The agency was previously charged with implementing national cybersecurity strategies. The agency did that for its power grid, but not fully for the distribution systems that may be vulnerable to supply chain exploitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a result, these plans will likely be of limited use in prioritizing federal support to states in addressing grid distribution systems\u2019 cybersecurity,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In August, the department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/doe-announces-45-million-next-generation-cyber-tools-protect-power-grid\" target=\"_blank\">committed<\/a> $45 million toward 15 research-and-development projects aimed at testing technology that protect the electric grid from cyber attacks, along with the additional grid upgrades funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, the Department of the Interior fell short of proofing its cyber strategy, which GAO found noteworthy given the agency\u2019s role in overseeing offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The department<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-106441.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"> recognized the need <\/a>to address cybersecurity risks and initiated efforts to do so in 2015, 2020, and 2022, but the steps they took \u201cdid not result in substantial action, and the bureau had not yet developed a cybersecurity strategy,\u201d another GAO report found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To address that, Interior hired a cybersecurity specialist in 2022, but officials said the security overhauls would be paused until the employee was brought up to speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such experts are high on the federal government\u2019s wish list and often hard to come by. The Office of Personnel Management has labeled IT and cyber talent as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/future-of-the-workforce\/cybersecurity-hiring-resource-hub\/memo-attachment-2-infographic-48.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">persistent skill gap<\/a> in the government workforce and a critical need for actually carrying out policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Panelists at the <a href=\"https:\/\/atarc.org\/\">Advanced Technology Academic Research Center<\/a>\u2019s IT Modernization Summit on Feb. 8 acknowledged getting the right talent on the right teams is as important a tool in reaching secure IT goals as the technology itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou need a workforce in order to be productive,\u201d said panelist Meikle Paschal Jr., a program manager for robotic process automation at the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though federal IT modernization en bloc hinges on a skilled workforce, it\u2019s often complicated by funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[At] every agency, you have an idea that you want to modernize systems for various reasons,\u201d said Drew Myklegard, deputy chief information officer at the Office of Management and Budget, at the ATARC event. &#8221; I think the most important thing is you\u2019ve got to have the money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sources of funding often comes down to administrative or Congressional priorities, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/tmf.cio.gov\/arp\/\" target=\"_blank\">Technology Modernization Fund<\/a> via American Rescue Plan dollars or the Inflation Reduction Act for the IRS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAlthough I will say we haven\u2019t had great luck with [TMF],\u201d said LeAnn Oliver, director of DOE\u2019s Office of Corporate Business Systems, at the ATARC event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To support IT modernization, in April 2019, the IRS developed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-104719.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">a business plan <\/a>that identified relevant initiatives through 2024. Though not a comprehensive strategy for modernizing or replacing IRS\u2019s legacy systems, it lays out four major categories of work that IRS deemed necessary to transforming the tech and upgrading the taxpayer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, officials noted that the success of that plan depends on hiring flexibility and required, predictable, multi-year funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Myklegard also said that OMB memos signal legislation that helps it and other agencies decide where to allocate assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re also looking at what\u2019s a great ROI,\u201d Myklegard said. \u201cNot all dollars that are put toward modernization yield the same benefits, so we\u2019re always trying to maximize that ROI and reduce our risk.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Such outdated equipment is a risk, GAO warns, as \u201cmalicious actors are becoming more willing and 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