Report Says Former IRS Employees--Think Lois Lerner--Can Still Peruse Your Tax Returns

Forbes ^ | 03/24/2015 | Robert W. Wood

[SeekAndFind]

Could Lois Lerner still take a look at your tax returns on IRS computers? It sounds preposterous, but a new watchdog report says former IRS employees still have access to IRS computer systems long after they have no official business with the information. The report is by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. The GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. In the case of IRS security, the report says not well.

This report cites significant deficiencies in the security of IRS financial reporting systems. Millions of Americans who are legally required to file taxes are fearful about fraud. The report says the IRS needs to continue improving controls over financial and taxpayer data. In the case of former IRS workers with continuing access to IRS data systems, they need to be cut off.

One co-author of the report said the IRS horde of taxpayer data can be used by identity thieves. The timing couldn’t be worse for the IRS. The IRS is failing to secure its massive computer systems, leaving private taxpayer data vulnerable to fraudsters and hackers, the new report from the GAO reveals.

The agency is still reeling from budget cuts, and taxpayer confidence in the security and credibility of the IRS is not high. Its release caps a bad two months for the IRS and taxpayers. The annual tax filing season arrived with a bang, punctuated by a big uptick in fears about fraud. There was nearly a bank run when TurboTax suspended filing state tax returns over fraud.

[Diogenesis]

Of course she, and the others can. The EXEMPT Lerner funded Hamas' rockets and tunnels
and lied to EXEMPT Issa
and EXEMPT Cummings (who was in on it, totally)
and did not even blink.
She knew the coverup was in.

Here the EXEMPT Boehner gives EXEMPT Issa
and EXEMPT Cummings an award
... for covering up EXEMPT Lerner's treason and felonies.

[MichaelCorleone]

Maybe it’s time to play the gender card on them. If this was a white male, he would have been in an orange jumpsuit by now.

[Blood of Tyrants]

End income taxes and you will end one of the main reasons the government has to snoop in to your finances.

[IYAS9YAS]

They may have system access, in that their log-on username and password may still work, but do they have the physical access to be able to get to the system with the data? I.E. access to a network-authorized computer?

[Bucky14]

Login: LoisLerner
Password: GUEST

Wow, it still works.