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How Safe are Government Computers?
KingOfBLASH asks: "Recently, when I was in the local City Court to protest a parking ticket, I noticed that all of the computers were running Windows (some as old as Windows 95!), and there were definitely network cables snaked around them. The City Hall suffers from the same affliction. Given that some of these computers have passed the End of Life for support, and there are a number of known exploits, how safe our government computers? What damage could be done if they were attacked?" It would be interesting to note if it's just local governments that may be running lower-than-expected tech or regional governments, as well. It would also be worthwhile to hear how governments outside the US compare to their American counterparts.
City officials are scared shitless of workers who don't do much anyway doing stuff like surfing porn and gambling online.
Because of this, places with a nonexistant or weak IT staff don't allow internet access to most employees, leaving the computers less vulnerable.
The worst offenders IMHO are large agencies with multiple branch offices. Things like agricultural extensions, social services and DMV offices.
Also, Federal IT is a joke. The military is or was too busy adhering to insane specs to update computers. Medicare and VA networks in particular are worm breeding grounds.