Outdated Tech, Rising Risk: How Federal Agencies Can Eliminate Tech Debt and Reduce Cyber Risk

Amid shrinking budgets and workforce pressures, your agency, like many across the federal government, is likely grappling with the growing challenge of technical debt (tech debt). Tech debt, the accumulation of outdated or under-maintained technology, can slow progress and put your agency’s mission at risk if not addressed proactively.

A Case Study: Learning from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), part of the United States Department of Energy, provides a clear example of how agencies can confront this issue. Years of underinvestment have left the agency with aging IT systems—many of them more than two decades old—despite being essential for daily operations. To close this technology gap, the NNSA is now modernizing its enterprise resource planning systems across nationwide sites.

As Jamie Wolff, the NNSA’s Chief Information Officer, has publicly highlighted, many federal agencies face a significant backlog of technology upgrades and must also find ways to move data efficiently across cloud-based networks.

The Cyber Risks of Legacy Systems

Federal agencies with legacy infrastructures are increasingly vulnerable to cyber risks, particularly from end-of-life (EoL) and end-of-support (EoS) systems. While many are steadily chipping away at inefficiencies, the scale of the problem requires more than incremental fixes. Agencies need a unified toolset strategy—one that streamlines collaboration, enhances security, and maximizes limited resources.

This need is especially urgent as recent downsizing across the federal government has further reduced the personnel available to manually track and maintain EoL/EoS systems.

Why Agencies Need a Unified Toolset for Cyber Risk Management and IT Modernization

A unified toolset strategy helps agencies:

• Standardize tools and processes across departments
• Gain visibility into system health and vulnerabilities
• Automate routine maintenance and patch management
• Move data securely across cloud environments

Such a strategy ensures agencies manage technology and risk effectively, even with fewer hands on deck.

Tactics to Combat Tech Debt, Reduce Cyber Risk, and Advance Your Agency’s Mission

Tech debt, combined with security gaps and shrinking budgets, jeopardizes federal agencies’ ability to fulfill their missions effectively. Legacy systems at the EoL/EoS stage compound the problem, while incomplete asset visibility makes it nearly impossible to detect unauthorized or unmanaged software—opening the door to cyberattacks.

Federal compliance programs and mandates such as the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and FedRAMP depend on accurate, up-to-date asset data and strong security controls. Yet manual data collection is time-consuming and error-prone.

The federal IT workforce shortage further magnifies challenges around software procurement and license auditing. With fewer experienced professionals to manage these tasks, agencies face higher risks of non-compliance and operational disruption.

Building a Software Asset Management Strategy

To address these vulnerabilities and inefficiencies, federal agency leaders must adopt a centralized, agency-wide Software Asset Management (SAM) strategy.

Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management with External Attack Surface Management (EASM) supports this approach by identifying unknown assets, optimizing software investments, and strengthening cybersecurity posture across every attack surface.

With Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management, your agency can:

• Maintain continuous asset visibility across cloud, on-premises, and IoT/OT systems
• Gain actionable insights into vulnerabilities and risks
• Standardize tools and processes for tracking and compliance
• Better understand usage patterns and contractual obligations
• Eliminate waste and align technology with mission goals

Optimize Software Spending in Federal Agencies

Unused licenses are wasted funds—resources that could otherwise advance your mission or improve taxpayer services. With Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management, your agency gains the insights needed to eliminate overspending and ensure every taxpayer dollar is used effectively.

Simplify Federal Compliance Efforts

Meeting federal regulations doesn’t have to be a burden. Qualys automates key processes such as patch management and risk assessments while providing a unified view of your network environment. This saves time, reduces errors, and makes compliance audits far less disruptive.

Proactively Manage Federal IT Tech Debt

Outdated systems are more than an inconvenience—they’re a liability. Qualys enables agencies to identify upcoming EoL/EoS software, hardware, and operating systems up to 12 months in advance. This proactive approach gives IT leadership time to plan mitigation steps effectively before vulnerabilities arise.

By addressing tech debt early, your agency can reduce the risk of unpatchable vulnerabilities while staying compliant and secure.

Uncover Blind Spots with Third-Party Asset Intelligence

Blind spots in your IT environment expand the attack surface and increase the likelihood of breaches. Qualys eliminates these gaps by uncovering unmanaged or unauthorized assets and enriching them with third-party intelligence such as device properties and business group assignments—strengthening external attack surface management.

This added context enables more accurate risk assessments and ensures no asset is overlooked, whether in the cloud, on-premises, or within IoT/OT systems.

Expand Coverage with Passive Network Discovery

Traditional discovery methods often miss assets that aren’t actively scanned or monitored. Qualys solves this by using its lightweight agent as a passive sensor to expand internal attack surface coverage. This ensures risks from previously hidden assets are detected—so nothing slips through the cracks.

Seamlessly Sync with ServiceNow and BMC ITSM Tools

Keeping your agency’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB) accurate is critical but often time-consuming. Qualys streamlines this by integrating seamlessly with leading ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow and BMC.

With bi-directional synchronization, Qualys keeps the CMDB current by adding missing assets and enriching them with lifecycle status, expired certificates, and missing agent data. This integration also accelerates ticket resolution—by up to 50%—ensuring IT and security teams work from a single source of truth.

Assess Risk on Your Agency’s External Attack Surface

Your agency’s external attack surface is where vulnerabilities are often most visible—and where blind spots are most frequent. With Qualys, your agency can continuously identify internet-facing systems and assess related risks in real time.

Eliminate Tech Debt and Manage Cyber Risk

Don’t wait for the next audit—or worse, the next cyberattack—to make changes that will benefit your agency long term.

Take full control of your software assets with Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management. Empower your agency to eliminate inefficiencies, strengthen cybersecurity, and focus on what truly matters: advancing your mission with precision and confidence.

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Take the first step toward eliminating tech debt and securing your mission.

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