In news potentially more terrifying than handing over the trigger to presumptive Republican Party nominee Donald Trump, the US government has revealed the computers used to command its nuclear arsenal aren’t exactly cutting edge.
According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (via Business Insider), some of the machines still have 8-inch floppy disk drives.
The report, aptly titled ‘Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems’ it was revealed some agencies are using 50 year old machines.
One of these machines the Pentagon’s Strategic Automated Command and Control System.
The report explains: “
“It runs on an IBM Series/1 Computer — a 1970s computing system — and uses 8-inch floppy disk.”
That marvel of 1970s technology started out with 16KB of memory, by the way.
Related: Here’s our totally unrelated Fallout 4 review
Before you go running for the nearest nuclear bunker, like the one in Deep Impact, know that plans to upgrade to a system that doesn’t pre-date Ronald Reagan’s presidency are in play.
The report points out: “The agency is planning to update data storage solutions, port expansion processors, portable terminals, and desktop terminals, which are all scheduled to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2017.”
Well, that’s good, we feel much better about that. We definitely won’t be digging a 50-ft deep hole in the backyard and building a shelter this weekend.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.