The bad news? 69% of the problem found by the GAO in 2008 remain unresolved. An article titled Taxpayer data at risk from IRS security flaws pointed us to the GAO Report (PDF) where the deficiencies are laid out. Here are just a few:
-Weak passwords;
-employees having too much access to files;
-info sent across the IRS network unencrypted; and
-running outdated and unsupported software.
"As a result, IRS is at increased risk of unauthorized disclosure, modification, or destruction of financial and taxpayer information," the GAO says.
But, we are living in an age of openness. Privacy is a thing of the past, something grandma worries about, not something a modern, connected person concerns him/her self with, although the airways are filled with commercials for identify theft protection. So either there's a demand for those services, or there's a lot of money wasted on advertising.
Final thought. The other day we asked: Census questions: What are you REQUIRED to answer? Here's another question: Do you suppose the Census Bureau is more or less concerned with information safety than the IRS?
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