In a report submitted to the department last month, Inspector General Gregory Friedman was critical of the DOE's policies for licensing and administering software in its various units.

The DOE and its contractors operate more than 110,000 desktop computers that run commercial off-the-shelf software, including office automation, records management, document imaging and anti-virus products, Friedman said.

The report found that the DOE has "not adequately managed the acquisition and maintenance of desktop software computer licenses."

In particular, Friedman said that seven of 16 organizations in the department bought software through locally established agreements or contracts, with prices up to 300 percent higher than those available through department-level agreements.

In addition, despite the potential for savings, the DOE has not entered into enterprise agreements for common products, such as security and antivirus software, the report said.