Jersey government's IT system reliant on second-hand parts

Manufacturers no longer sell the relevant parts for the government's system

The out-dated condition of Jersey's government IT system has forced the body to buy second-hand parts, an official has revealed.

The technology used by the accounting and social security departments was last updated in 2005.

John Quinn, chief operating officer for the government, described the system as "really inefficient".

A £20m funding project for an improved IT infrastructure is included in the 2020-2023 government plan.

Mr Quinn told the BBC the systems were so old manufacturers no longer sold the required parts, forcing the government to buy from second-hand dealers.

"If you think about the kind of technology around in 2005, the iPhone didn't exist.

"So you can imagine a lot of it is really inefficient," he said.

The absence of an update has also forced the government to employ more staff to deal with paper-related duties.

"We've had to employ people to do jobs that you wouldn't expect to in the modern world," Mr Quinn said.

Jersey government has been subject to about 4,000 cyber security attacks in 2019

The threat of cyber security attacks has prompted the £20m funding project from the government.

Chief Minister John Le Fondré told the States Assembly the government had been subject to 4,000 attacks in 2019.

"The world has got more dangerous," Mr Quinn said.