NEW YORK - With a blast that made skyscrapers tremble, an 83-year-old steam pipe sent a powerful message that the miles of tubes, wires and iron beneath New York and other U.S. cities are getting older and could become dangerously unstable.

July 2007 Story About a Burst Steam Pipe in Manhattan

We've heard about software rot and technical debt.

And we've heard from the likes of:

• "Uncle Bob" Martin - Who warned us about "the consequences of making a mess".
• Michael C. Feathers - Who gave us guidance for 'Working Effectively With Legacy Code'.

So certainly the software engineering community is aware of these issues.

But I feel like our aggregate society does not appreciate how these issues can plague working systems and applications.

As Steve McConnell notes:

...Unlike financial debt, technical debt is much less visible, and so people have an easier time ignoring it.

If this is true, and I believe that it is, then I fear that governments and businesses may defer regular maintenance and fortification against hackers until it is too late. [Much like NYC and the steam pipes.]

My Question:

• Do you share my concern?
  • And if so, is there a way that we can avoid the software equivalent of NYC and the steam pipes?