Computer outage at Va. agencies hits eighth day

By Derek Kravitz

A computer outage that has wreaked havoc on Virginia state agencies was entering its eighth day today, as officials acknowledged that the failure was more complicated than they originally thought.

Three state agencies - the board of elections and the departments of motor vehicles and taxation - are still experiencing major computer issues, which are hampering their daily operations, said Marcella Williamson, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, which oversees the state's computer network.

Computers for 24 other affected agencies are operational, but a handful are experiencing "minor problems," allowing them to conduct business but "not as efficiently," Williamson said.

The damaged storage unit at the heart of the problem - a small piece of computer hardware housed in a massive state facility near Richmond - has been repaired, but workers are now verifying and restoring data, which officials called an "extremely time-consuming process."

State officials said the outage affected 485 of the state's 4,800 data servers - about 10 percent - but that fixes have taken longer than they anticipated.

"This outage has not crippled state government. It has created some challenges and the DMV outage has impacted citizens seeking driver's licenses, but the vast majority of state government computing functions are fully operational," Williamson said.

Northrop Grumman, the defense contractor that handles the $2.3 billion Virginia computer contract, said Tuesday that the company supports Gov. Bob McDonnell's push for an independent investigation of the computer failure and promised to learn from it.

"We will conduct a root cause analysis, carefully analyze and review the findings, develop lessons learned and make necessary changes," said Sam Abbate, Northrop's vice president for the state IT program.

The outages have left many Virginians unable to perform a variety of routine services. Taxpayers have been unable to file returns, make payments or register online through the Department of Taxation.

The voter registration database at the Virginia State Board of Elections was still offline Tuesday. Virginia residents can still apply to register to vote, but those applications will not be entered until the agency's database is restored.

All 74 Department of Motor Vehicles service centers across the state have been unable to issue new or replacement driver's licenses or identification cards since the afternoon of Aug. 25.

Melanie Stokes, a DMV spokeswoman, said licensing services would still be down today, and no timetable for their return has been set.

When the system goes back online, Stokes said, DMV officials are preparing for an influx of at least 32,000 Virginia residents who have been waiting to renew or get new licenses in person. Service centers will be fully staffed, additional part-time employees are on standby, crowd-control measures will be implemented and extended office hours are being considered, she said.

Virginia State Police won't take any enforcement action for driver's licenses that expire from Aug. 25 through Sept. 30, authorities said.