Bugged
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For many years of my consulting career, I worked with various government entities helping to design and install major computer systems. I primarily did work with the agencies of a number of State governments. And although I never worked on a project for the Feds, I did do work in England at the national level for all of the UK. It was a series of systems to massively overhaul one of the government departments. It was unbelievably complicated, and I was only involved with just one system.
What most people don’t understand is developing and maintaining government systems is really, really hard… much harder than with the private sector. Believe me — I did both.
First, is their visibility. You are always aware that you are working in the metaphorical goldfish bowl. If a truck manufacturer has a system glitch, where their customers might be affected, they can notify them privately without a lot of fuss. But when a government project is over budget or has glitches of any kind, it becomes front page news in every relevant media outlet from The Boston Globe to CNN. Often TV cameras are waiting outside computer centers to see, if they can find the inside scoop from some disgruntled worker, who is willing to talk on-the-record. And when a government system — say for example, Air Traffic Control —has a glitch, the whole country is grounded to a halt. It can be a really big deal with even more TV cameras.
Who can forget the exposés, which were written and discussed when the Affordable Care Act was rolled out in 2013? The website that was supposed to make it easy to apply for and purchase the insurance did not work well. It was slow and people were hung up during the application process. It turned into a public relations fiasco.
While I had some sympathy for the people trying to get logged onto Obamacare, I have to be honest, my heart actually went out to the poor systems folks, who had been brought in to try and fix the problems, and found themselves caught in the crosshairs. I’ve been there and it’s not fun. I had feelings of déjà vu by reliving the stress, as I was reading daily updates by the press.
Second, government systems are really complicated. That’s not to say that systems within banks or insurance companies are easy. They’re not. But government systems are different and far more intricate because of politicians.
Most systems have patterns and rules (e.g., basic accounts receivable, inventory management, order entry, etc.). But government systems have exceptions and lots of them. Anyone, who has ever prepared an itemized 1040 tax form, should be able to recognize how complicated the computer system must be to process it.
I was designing a system one time and was interviewing a user to understand some of the necessary features. He indicated a particular rule, that some politician had managed to get enacted, which needed to be in the system. It was something as absurd as, “if the citizen raised Jersey cows, then he got a 7% discount rather than the standard 6%.” I asked what percentage of the time that this actually occurred and was told about 1% of the time.
I took my query further — can’t these accounts be pulled out and processed manually instead? This highlights another challenge with government systems — the sheer volumes are unbelievable. He indicated 1% would be something like 50,000 accounts… way too many to process manually. So we had to add this obscure requirement into the system. Trust me … politicians manage to enact all sorts of crazy things, so this happens often.
Thirdly, while there are daily functions, many government systems are processed cyclically (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.). That means the work cannot be evenly distributed and there are lots of peaks and valleys with processing. That can definitely complicate things.
Further, many systems like, for example, a purchasing system remain fairly stable and are not modified very often. That rarely holds true with government systems. So the other challenge is this: because the rules and laws can be frequently changed, the computer systems need to updated continuously and they become a patchwork of code that tends to be highly sensitive to any adjustments or modifications.
Replacing one of these systems is very expensive and politicians are loathe to allocate the funds to do it. So what many government agencies are left with are dated and very complex systems. Some experienced programmers and designers in government organizations, who are close to retirement, are encouraged to stay on the job because of their institutional knowledge and understanding of the aged code.
Granted, I have been out of consulting since 1998, so no telling what these computer systems are like today. Despite that acknowledgement, I honestly believe that many of the systems that are keeping the Federal government going have probably been doing so for many, many decades.
Which brings me to the work of Elon and his DOGE Musk-rats. Maybe my professional experiences with government agencies is why I am so alarmed with who these people are and why they are fiddling with, in some cases, very complicated computer systems. I find it highly unlikely that they are making performance improvements. I don’t care how smart they are - it takes a long time to really understand the complexity of some of these programs.
Disruptions to the day-to-day functioning of X (aka, Twitter) are so trivial compared to the damage these folks could be doing to the nation. Somehow, I just can’t believe that they have such ruthless hubris, that they would actually get into the computer code without studying it for a while. I tend to believe that they are instead accessing the databases and files, which, in some ways, is even more alarming.
We don’t have a clue, who these people are and what these people are doing. Downloading, saving and stealing private or sensitive information? Transmitting data to Russian hackers? Setting up electronic fund transfers to Cayman Island offshore accounts? Who knows? It doesn’t take a computer scientist to imagine, what could be happening to our data. The possibilities are endless.
To say I’m bugged about this situation is a gross understatement.
Personally, I’m horrified.
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
“Everything had changed suddenly--the tone, the moral climate; you didn't know what to think, whom to listen to. As if all your life you had been led by the hand like a small child and suddenly you were on your own, you had to learn to walk by yourself. There was no one around, neither family nor people whose judgment you respected. At such a time you felt the need of committing yourself to something absolute--life or truth or beauty--of being ruled by it in place of the man-made rules that had been discarded.” ~Boris Pasternak
Keep “Flooding the Zone”
United States Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
What I read every day…
Quote of the day:
“As we watch unprecedented events unfold, it’s important to shift our political paradigm. I’ve been concerned for a long time that Trump and his MAGA movement have fully internalized the morality of the ends justifying the means… but now I’m beginning to wonder whether the means are the ends. In other words, he’s not breaking the constitutional structure to achieve concrete policy goals; breaking the constitutional structure is the policy goal.”
~David French
What I’m reading today…
Is DOGE a cybersecurity threat?
As a 30-year cybersecurity veteran, I find the activities of DOGE thus far concerning. Its broad mandate across government, seemingly nonexistent oversight, and the apparent lack of operational competence of its employees have demonstrated that DOGE could create conditions that are ideal for cybersecurity or data privacy incidents that affect the entire nation.
The Government’s Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified
Even if the president of the United States, the head of the executive branch, supports (and, importantly, understands) these efforts by DOGE, these experts told us, they would still consider Musk’s campaign to be a reckless and dangerous breach of the complex systems that keep America running. Federal IT systems facilitate operations as varied as sending payments from the Treasury Department and making sure that airplanes stay in the air, the sources told us.
How the tactics Musk brought to Washington backfired at Twitter
Musk’s modus operandi as: “Take it over, ruthlessly purge anyone who he sees as opposition and crash operations to remake it in his worldview.” It’s unclear whether his push for “extremely hardcore” changes at Twitter has paid off. Revenue at the company now called X has plunged, the number of users has dwindled and even Musk himself has expressed frustration at how long it is taking to turn around the company’s finances.
Musk's "move fast, break things" ethos threatens U.S. security
Media reports continue to emerge that suggest the employees on Musk's team are unqualified and can become national security vulnerabilities themselves. Wired reported that one member has connections to a Telegram-based cyberattack-for-hire service. That same person was also fired from a cybersecurity internship for disclosing company secrets to a competitor, Bloomberg reported Friday. DOGE has reportedly either already gained access or is eyeing access to sensitive federal systems, including those handling Social Security, Medicare, and national infrastructure. Agencies affected include the Treasury Department, Energy Department and the Office of Personnel Management — and others that handle classified and highly sensitive data.
Judge Halts Access to Treasury Payment Systems by Elon Musk’s Team
A federal judge early Saturday temporarily restricted access by Elon Musk’s government efficiency program to the Treasury Department’s payment and data systems, saying there was a risk of “irreparable harm.” The Trump administration’s new policy of allowing political appointees and “special government employees” access to these systems, which contain highly sensitive information such as bank details, heightens the risk of leaks and of the systems becoming more vulnerable than before to hacking. Musk Team’s Treasury Access Raises Security Fears, Despite Judge’s Ordered Halt
Why Is Elon Musk So Hell-Bent on Bulldozing the Government?
…why a man who could be luxuriating on a private island or floating in a zero-gravity chamber of his own making, or could literally buy anything he wants on planet Earth—or off planet Earth, for that matter—instead chooses to engage in a bureaucratic purge of historic proportions. And on top of that, why is he delighting in pulling funding from crucial government programs, working to shutter entire agencies, and slashing thousands of federal jobs with the casual ease of a CEO tweeting a doge meme?
Now the most powerful bureaucrat in America, Musk is leaning not only on access to sensitive government systems but also on his legions of fervently loyal, often-anonymous X followers as he weighs the fate of billions of dollars in spending. Musk, who typically posts between 50 and 100 tweets per day, is taking the bottom-up approach by letting foot soldiers supply suggestions that get seen — and acted on — by his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Even the low and spiteful character of so many people who are being hired in the administration is related to Trump’s constitutional revolution. He needs people who aren’t just willing but also happy to blow through moral and legal guardrails for him… The powers granted to the president in the Constitution are great enough that an unscrupulous man or woman in the Oval Office can place an extraordinary strain on the country.
Elon Musk Is A Tech Bro Wrecking Ball
X, which has lost 70 percent of its value under Musk, serves as a cautionary tale when it comes to his philosophy and his assault on the federal government… As someone who has bankrupted half a dozen big companies, Trump doesn’t care about Musk’s failure. He saw his enormous net worth—$420 billion—and concluded, “This is my guy.”…Uninterested in governing as a president bound by the Constitution, Trump is setting himself up as a king, with Musk as his most trusted knight. Naturally, Sir Elon is swinging his sword in ways that indicate he doesn’t understand that the government is not a business with profit as its purpose. It is, instead, an institution devoted to the defense and welfare of the country.
Musk’s Lost Boys and Trump’s Mean Girls
To elect one Emperor of Chaos is unfortunate. To let two run the government is simply asking for it. Presidents Trump and Musk have merged their cult followings, attention addictions, conspiratorial mind-sets, disinformation artistry, disdain for the Constitution, talent for apocalyptic marketing and jumping-from-thing-to-thing styles. With a pitiless and mindless velocity, they are running roughshod over the government — and the globe…Trump cares about being popular and Musk doesn’t. So their relationship will probably remain strong until Elon cuts so many benefits from the Trump faithful that they tell Trump they no longer love him.
Now Is Not the Time to Tune Out
Elections, it is often noted, have consequences. But is this unconstitutional overhaul of the American government — far more sweeping, haphazard and cruel than anything he campaigned on — really what those voters signed up for? To put America’s system of checks and balances, its alliances and its national security at risk? Because, beyond the bluster, that is what Mr. Trump, Mr. Musk and their supporters are doing.
Why Trump's in-your-face campaign will never end
The White House digital team has been pushing out videos that are designed to trigger liberals and go viral on conservative media.
Americans Are Trapped in an Algorithmic Cage
The presence of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew—dubbed the “broligarchs” —at Trump’s inauguration was an ominous sign. Along with Elon Musk, the far-right billionaire and owner of X, who with Trump’s blessing appears to have illegally asserted control over parts of the federal government, these tycoons represent a tech elite that collectively controls the mediums through which Americans collect and assess information, and therefore determine much of what Americans see and hear on a daily basis…Trump has made clear with his threats that he expects them to use their power to prop up his administration. They have all, at least symbolically, demonstrated their loyalty.