GAO: Agencies should plan for modernizing critical decades-old legacy systems

The government spends over $100 billion on IT each year. Most of that is used to operate and maintain existing systems, including aging “legacy” systems that are costly to maintain and vulnerable to hackers.

The Government Accountability Office identified 11 of the most critical federal legacy systems at agencies like Health and Human Services and Treasury. Three agencies had documented modernization plans for their systems that included all key practices for success. But agencies responsible for the eight remaining systems didn’t fully document their plans. 

GAO recommended that Congress consider requiring major agencies to make modernization plans for their critical legacy systems.

Read more at Government Accountability Office