LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The state of Kentucky confirmed it's using a computer language developed more than a half-century ago to process unemployment claims.
Numerous complaints have been received about the state's website to process unemployment claims, with people saying it's slow, crashes frequently and is generally unusable. Kentucky officials say like other states, its website is powered by COBOL language, which stands for Common Business Oriented Language.
COBOL was developed in 1959, according to the National Museum of American History.
"It's a programming language that was used to create a very significant percentage of business systems over the period of the 60s, 70s and even into the 80s," Joseph Steinberg, an expert on cybersecurity, told CNN.
Although it's not in widespread use now, it continues to be used by many systems. According to a report on CNN, 43% of banking systems are built on COBOL, and 95% of ATM swipes rely on COBOL code.
Kentucky officials declined an on-camera interview about the issue but said nearly 1,000 employees are now answering phones to help with unemployment. That's up from 12 just a few weeks ago.
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