US nuclear force still using 1970-era floppy disks: report

The US may have the world's latest and powerful weapons but its nuclear force still use obsolete floppy disks designed in the 1970s to coordinate some of its operational functions, says a new watchdog report.
According to a report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Pentagon was still using 1970s-era computing systems that require "eight-inch floppy disks."
Such disks were already becoming obsolete by the end of that decade, being edged out by smaller, non-floppy 3.5 to 5.25-inch disks, before being almost completely replaced by the CD in the late 90s.
That type of computer using floppy disks debuted in 1976, when Gerald Ford was US president.

Federal legacy IT investments are becoming increasingly obsolete: many use outdated software languages and hardware parts that are unsupported. Agencies reported using several systems that have components that are, in some cases, at least 50 years old, the report said.
The GAO report says that US government departments spend upwards of USD 60 billion a year on operating and maintaining out-of-date technologies.

That's three times the investment on modern IT systems, CNN reported.
The report says the Pentagon is planning to replace its floppy systems -- which currently coordinate intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), nuclear bombers and tanker support aircraft -- by the end of 2017.

Other departments were also put on notice to update their systems.
The US Treasury for example, still depends on assembly language code "initially used in the 1950s."
Bringing government departments into the 21st century has proven difficult across the board.
Megan Smith, the current US Chief Technology Officer, told the New York Times in 2015 of the "culture shock" experienced by the tech-savvy Obama campaign when they took control of a White House still dependent on floppy disks and Blackberrys.