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IRS Leaves Taxpayer Data Largely Unprotected
LogError writes "Two weeks ago, Department of Treasury received a D-minus grade in the Federal Computer Security Report Card for 2005, down from a D-plus grade in 2004. The majority of Treasury systems are those belonging to IRS. The government-wide computer-security grade for 2005 was D-plus, while Homeland Security and Defense both received an F. Grades are based on reports submitted to Congress by the agencies; the reports are required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002.8 The scores are meant to reflect whether departments meet federally mandated security standards."
IRS Leaves Taxpayer Data Largely Unprotected
This story acts as we should be surprised. The government serves the people. The IRS, on the other hand, serves the government. I let you figure out where the disconnect is.
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Cost of providing security against non-existent WMDs that couldn't reach the US even if they existed ... $100 Billion
... $400 Billion
... $0.0005 Billion (of $500 million)
... Priceless!
Cost of providing security against al-Qaeda attacking US from Iraq, even though they weren't there
Cost of providing security against really obvious IRS forms that let people steal your money and assets easily
Realizing you've been taken to the cleaners due to your own gullibility
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Here's a question. What does it cost the IRS if taxpayer data is stolen?
Oh yeah. Squat. Why *should* they care? It's no skin off their back.
If our government wanted to make sure this didn't happen, they'd fine the IRS every time there was a security breach. In fact, they'd fine the IRS just for having bad security. And then things would improve.
'Course, in reality, why would they do that? There's no reason our government would want to hurt the IRS in any way.
Really, what should be happening is the people of America suing the IRS for not guarding our information properly. I wonder how *that* lawsuit would go.
Here's the fundamental issue: If you want someone to behave in a certain way, you have to make it worth their while. Right now the IRS has no incentive for keeping our info safe. Want to change that? Change it at the source.
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they have an A doubleplus in 'tracking your ass down and throwing you in jail'.
;)
It's for this reason that I've never understood why governments don't set the tax services (I don't live in the USA; We call the equivilent of the IRS the Inland revenue, there's no service about it on this side of the Atlantic.) onto "Teh Terrorists!!!" They are the only branch of the state that can track anyone down quickely and eaisly; surley they should be put in chrge of what you call "homeland security".
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
You may have cause and effect backwards. These scores appear to be self-reported. The department of Defense has realized that the best way to get more money is to give themselves a bad score.