Floppies in the War Room? That’s ok with us.
Last week the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report called “INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems”
You can find the report here:
https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677454.pdf
On page three of this report they said:
“Department of Defense: Strategic Automated Command and Control System (which) Coordinates the operational functions of the United States’ nuclear forces, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers, and tanker support aircrafts. This system runs on an IBM Series/1 Computer—a 1970s computing system—and uses 8-inch floppy disks.”
The media got a hold of this and had lots of fun with it. Memes and critical articles were everywhere.
We’re not so sure that using this ancient tech is such a bad idea.
If the US Government is still using 8 inch floppies and IBM Series/1 Computer from the 1970s in the war room, then it makes sense that these computers are not hooked up to the internet.
One of the last things I want to hear, is how the control of nukes is being moved to cloud-based storage or something similar.
IBM lists the IBM Series/1 Computer in the “Vintage” section of their website, which is kind of funny. However, these machines were rock solid and not meant to connect to a public network.
They were fast for what they were intended for back in the 70s, and since they are still doing the same job in 2016, are likely still adequate for the task.
The system uptimes for the IBM Series/1 Computer has been measured not in only weeks or months, but decades.
The Feds aren’t the only ones using these old systems. We know from our own clients that these legacy systems are still in use by media stations, factories, banks and more.
This could be one of those “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situations.
That is kind of reassuring.