THREAD: Russian hacks, cost overruns and advice that went unheeded: Here is what I found over 6 months spent investigating the @USCensusBureau’s $5B push to bring the #2020Census online (reut.rs/35ZuLLU) (1/13)
@uscensusbureau The Census Bureau is spending $5B to modernize the 2020 census. For the first time, most of you will respond on the internet, rather than via snail mail. But the complex IT system being used is rife with problems (2/13) 
@uscensusbureau During testing in 2018, hackers with Russian IP addresses were able to access #Census servers they shouldn’t have been able to access, sources tell us. To be clear, there’s no record of data being stolen (3/13)
@uscensusbureau But it’s a concern because any foreign meddling in the #2020Census would be a big deal. Census data is how we decide how to apportion congressional representation, and how each state apportions its own legislative districts (4/13)
@uscensusbureau The census also guides the federal government on how to allocate $1.5T – yes, trillion – a year in federal aid reut.rs/2LikPoI (5/13)
@uscensusbureau Also concerning, sources say the bureau’s primary security contractor, @TRex_Solutions, is lagging on preparedness. Not that these hacks were T-Rex’s fault, but they’ve sparked concern among security workers that the system isn’t prepared for more sophisticated efforts (6/13)
@uscensusbureau @TRex_Solutions A big piece of our reporting focuses on @Pega, the company building the website where you’ll fill out your responses, and the mobile apps that census takers will use during the door-to-door phase (7/13)
@uscensusbureau @TRex_Solutions @pega In 2016, the bureau chose to license Pega software for these tools instead of building on its own. At the time, it said Pega would be cheaper. Three years later, Pega’s cost estimate has doubled to $167M, and as stated above, its site has suffered some security incidents (8/13)
@uscensusbureau @TRex_Solutions @pega Pega’s product is meant to work as-is, right out of the box. Something like this is perfect for simple projects – the philosophy being that government shouldn’t waste resources building capabilities that already exist in the market (9/13)
@uscensusbureau @TRex_Solutions @pega But many software experts told us this type of solution is NOT designed to build super-complex IT aimed at accommodating the U.S. government's largest peacetime undertaking – the census – in which 300M people are expected to answer a set of Q’s (10/13)
@uscensusbureau @TRex_Solutions @pega It’s not that Pega’s product is bad, it just wasn’t designed for this. Advisers from 2 different gov’t agencies, 18F and USDS, tried to steer Census off a Pega-type solution. 18F urged Census to build its own. They say their pleas went largely ignored (12/13)
@uscensusbureau @TRex_Solutions @pega The upshot: Census IT is critical to the accuracy of the #2020Census, but right now there are serious concerns about its reliability. It’s not too late to fix it, but it demands attention. Hope you’ll read on @Reuters. [reut.rs/35ZuLLU] (13/13)
