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IRS Awards $7 Million Fraud Prevention Contract To Equifax (politico.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Politico: The IRS will pay Equifax $7.25 million to verify taxpayer identities and help prevent fraud under a no-bid contract issued last week, even as lawmakers lash the embattled company about a massive security breach that exposed personal information of as many as 145.5 million Americans. A contract award for Equifax's data services was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities database Sept. 30 -- the final day of the fiscal year. The credit agency will "verify taxpayer identity" and "assist in ongoing identity verification and validations" at the IRS, according to the award. The notice describes the contract as a "sole source order," meaning Equifax is the only company deemed capable of providing the service. It says the order was issued to prevent a lapse in identity checks while officials resolve a dispute over a separate contract. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle blasted the IRS decision.
Time to Start up a Class Action Against the IRS for ENABLING data compromised companies to perform government contracts involving IDENTITY! Appalling!
Someone should really drain that thing and build a castle...
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Hell, if anything, the levee isn't draining the swamp, it's actually preventing the natural outflow and turning it into a lake!
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Equifax is the only company deemed capable ...
Since Equifax has shown to be very incapable (of exactly the things they should be capable of), what does this say about all other companies in this business?
Also it looks like they didn't have any choice as Equifax laughably appears to be the only company on their approved supplier list for this service
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
I may agree in other circumstances, but awarding a contract for fraud prevention to what's probably the largest victim of a form of fraud in human history- an entity that is now trying to deflect blame by citing conditions that they themselves created in the first place, is about as stupid as it gets.
Equifax deserves to have its charter revoked, basically the corporate death penalty, with its assets liquidated and all of the proceeds going to a mitigation fund to attempt to combat the expected identity theft that the public will see in the upcoming years. Its officers should be prosecuted and if the ensuing investigation shows they were willfully negligent, the personal gains they made through those negligent actions should be confiscated through a civil forfeiture process as they're sentenced to jailtime. This is not the company that one awards a no-bid contract to.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Why is it a "sole source orderâoe? We have verified at least a few other parties have access to all the same data now....
Their CEO and Chief Security Officer resigned, so the problem's fixed...
They will need a good fraud prevention program following the data breach by Equifax ... Oh wait!
Well with the data leek, I think there are plenty of other people who could now provide the same services. Its just a matter of getting them approved I suppose.
It won't happen. Listen my fellow peasant, we have to just bend over and take it.
And when we get the letter stating that our taxes have already been filed (probably by some illegal alien using our SSN to get his refund and CTC, EITC, ACTC), WE will be the ones that will have to spend the time filling out forms to prove that we are who we are.
Then, every tax year, WE will have to provide the documentation stating that we are who we say we are.
All because businesses are careless with the data they insist on collecting about us. It's no skin off of their asses.
My wife's neurologist system was broken into and we got the letter stating that the break-in happened and "how they take patient privacy seriously".
Dumb shits.
Suck it up! There's nothing else to do!
We NEED European style privacy laws and regulations because businesses cannot be trusted to take responsibility.
[quote]The notice describes the contract as a "sole source order," meaning Equifax is the only company deemed capable of providing the service[/quote]
While that may have been true at the time of posting the order, pretty much every company has access to the same data as Equifax now.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
My company is currently spending a lot of money and time to comply with Europe's new General Data Protection Rules whereby any person can request that their information be completely removed for a company's systems. The reason the company is taking it seriously is because the fines for non-compliance are set as a percentage of the company's revenue so they could be massive. Plus no other European company will do business with us unless we're compliant.
Here in the USA though the moment most people hear "European style" they'll dismiss it as socialist and proudly remind you of how we value our freedoms here like the freedom to have a company compile vast amounts of sensitive data about you or the freedom to go bankrupt from medical bills or the freedom to never be able to afford to retire or the freedom to not be able to afford to go to college or the freedom to have your kids murdered in their classroom.
Aren't there like 3 of these major credit agencies?
Transunion...and another one.
I was about to say that the Feds have used Acxiom to clean up data before...but I think they may own Transunion, so, that might be redundant.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
WTF.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
This IRS calling to check your identity we need your
Name
Address
SS number or tax ID number
Remember, no bad deed goes unrewarded.
Ezekiel 23:20
Equifax just proved that they have the necessary data...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The decision was no doubt made weeks ago. The announcement had to be made by Sept. 30 so it was in the right fiscal year budget - use it or lose it.
Experian is the the third big one.
But depending on any number of things, TransUnion and Experian might not meet some qualification to run this program. But through the magic of government bureaucracy and loopholes, Equifax does.
Go figure.
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
Personally, I don't care about the amount of the contract. If it were for $100, that would make it no less objectionable.
The serious problem here is hiring a company who is demonstrably incapable of detecting or preventing fraud in a role of fraud prevention.
Equifax is not actually preventing fraud. I worked a similar project where another government agency was also trying to prevent fraud and abuse, and we used Equifax as a data source specifically to confirm identities. You provide them certain information (first name, last name, date of birth, address, etc. etc.) and they would confirm whether you had the correct person, often filling in the blanks. The agency would then use that information, along with other inputs, to determine whether fraud was being committed.
The IRS is doing the same thing - given the information available, Equifax will confirm whether the IRS is looking at the correct person. While I agree that Equifax needs to get their house in order or even be completely shut down, the contract awarded does speak to the fact that there are precious few identity providers out there. In fact, this may just go to show how much congress would NOT wish to sign the Equifax death certificate when they have much to lose in the way of services provided by Equifax.
There is a reason we call it "Government Level Stupidity".
This is an ex-parrot!
otherwise NOTHING will happen.
Doing nothing would be far preferable to putting a criminally incompetent company in this role.
The Dept. of Human Services has awarded a contract to a company formed by OJ Simpson, Robert Blake, and Scott Peterson to do research into domestic violence prevention and awareness.
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
you have to wonder what could have happened to make such fraud prevention measures necessary.
Nullius in verba
That's a good point. On the other hand, Congress has historically been very good with telling the IRS to do things that are very unpopular while at the same time blaming and directing the outrage about it at the IRS.
This IRS calling to check your identity we need your
Name
Address
SS number or tax ID number
Hello, IRS agent! It's on the internet now, so by all means, feel free to download it.
I think "swamp" is the alt-rights" code phrase for Treasury....
We have heard that the government doesn't work, so elect "so and so"; if they get elected, they then break the (previously working) government exactly as they described, and say it never worked.
I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
Equifax just showed the world their absolute ineptitude and now the IRS wants to give them a contract with sensitive information!? Oh boy! Now I have seen absolutely everything. Lightning may strike me dead because I really and truly can see nothing more.
Let's hear from the crowd, who like to pay taxes — because that's how they buy civilization .
They seem kind of quiet today for some reason...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
So, if I understand correctly, an organization who whose sensitive personal data (on almost every US taxpayer) has been compromised, is now being paid to be the sole source of verification for that very same information. What could go wrong?
I realize I am at odds with 50% of the American Electorate, but perhaps we need to get specific on who exactly is in this swamp that needs draining. Ajit Pai is cool? Equifax is legit? And people support these positions? WTF.
I don't know the exact word for state of Anarchy in which The Authority is itself is the source of the chaos and disorder. But, this seems to be current policy doctrine, supported by a large part of the electorate, for God Knows what reason. (Literally.)
But the point is that now the Bad Guys(TM) have all the information Equifax has and therefore using data from Equifax to prevent ID fraud seems kinda dumb.
The IRS tried to replace Equifax back in July when it awarded the contract that was competed to another company.
Equifax was the incumbent and protested the award.
In order to keep the service available to taxpayers, the IRS awarded Equifax a "bridge contract" until the protest is resolved.
So the IRS did everything right, the normal red tape prevented it from reacting to the security breach when it happened.
The damned credit agencies can't even get my address right. I've ran 3 agency checks several times over the last few years, and found multiple errors, and yet the government wants to rely on these jackasses? They should be sued into oblivion for not getting their shit straight. I'm currently fighting with one of them over a phony bill from MCI...yes, MCI. I had used them at an old address that I moved away from back in '02, and yet MCI posted that I owe them about $50 as of 2013...eleven years after I no longer had an account with them. I could easily pay off MCI, but am fighting it on principle.
Just another day in Paradise
Did I wake up in a parallel universe? Think of every possible expletive than dream of shoving them up the tail of this huge asses.