Massive IT failure in Virginia shuts down agencies

The problems were traced to 228 malfunctioning servers that control a cluster of software applications accessed remotely by computers at state agencies. As a result none of the state’s 74 DMV offices are currently able to process licenses and may be unable to do so until Monday.

Access to the Virginia Employment Commission’s website is down, leaving users unable to file jobless claims. The Virginia Department of Social Services also reported the outage is preventing the disbursal of child-support payments and aid to families in need.

“Knowledgeable and dedicated staff at Virginia’s state agencies, VITA and Northrop Grumman are working together to respond appropriately to the impacted systems. It is our priority to restore services as quickly as possible,” said Northrop vice president for strategic communications Randy Belote.

A VTIA spokesman said the state’s storage system has been repaired and more than 60 percent of the servers attached have been restored. Since the system is not yet fully operational work will continue over the weekend.