Outdated tech on Whitehall is likely costing billions to maintain and update, a TaxPayers' Alliance investigation revealed. As well as the additional costs, this technology is highly vulnerable to cyber attack. HMRC, the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the Department of Health and Social Care all use outdated technology.
Speaking to The Observer, which published the findings, John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance said:
“These numbers are deeply troubling, showing that key parts of government remain reliant on ancient IT systems, despite being exposed to well-documented serious cyber-vulnerabilities.
“This failure is exposing data to criminals and costing taxpayers billions in maintenance and incident management.
“Ministers must urgently commit to bringing the state in line with private sector standards, rather than wasting billions on pointless pet projects.”