The Social Security Administration (SSA) heavily relies on COBOL, an outdated coding language from the 1950s, affecting its operational efficiency. As revealed by a recent inspector general's report, SSA still operates more than 60 million lines of COBOL code. These legacy systems manage critical functions such as issuing Social Security numbers and calculating benefits. With no substantial updates since the 1980s, any changes could lead to significant disruptions, raising concerns about timely and accurate benefits for millions of Americans amid calls for modernization.
If you weren't worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits, or getting the wrong entitlements, or having to wait ages, then sure go ahead.
The Defense Department essentially pressured private industry to use COBOL soon after its creation, spurring widespread adoption and making it one of the most widely used languages for mainframes.
SSA's core logic is written largely in COBOL. This is the code that issues social security numbers, manages payments, and even calculates the total amount beneficiaries should receive.
SSA's infrastructure contained more than 60 million lines of code written in COBOL, with millions more written in other legacy coding languages.
Collection
[
|
...
]