I.R.S. Data Breach May Be Sign of More Personalized Schemes

The New York Slimes ^ | MAY 27, 2015 | PATRICIA COHEN

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Some security and tax experts warned that this latest data theft might be a prelude to more targeted schemes aimed at duping taxpayers into handing millions of dollars over to criminals or to help thieves circumvent the agency’s security filters next year and beyond.

“This breach is not just about what this single group is going to do with the information, but what happens when this information gets sold on the black market,” said Peter Warren Singer, the author of “Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know.” “It’s rare for the actual attackers to turn the information directly into money. They’re stealing the data and selling it off to other people.”

[RetiredTexasVet]

My personal feeling about this breach and the past breaches are that they are caused or enabled by the IRS employees as passive aggressive behavior to punish the taxpayers after being embarrassed and humiliated by exposure of their actions led by Lois Lerner and her fellow racketeers.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Koskinen needs to go. Now.

[Maurice Tift]

  The IRS is a very personal organization. They know so much about us.

[VanShuyten]

It turns out that “somebody” in Russia did it, so there’s no telling what the real reason is. It could be thieves or it could be the FSB looking for useful data.

[so_real]

Seems to me that stolen data wouldn't be worth a hill of beans if the nation moved off the income tax basis to a Fair Tax or flat tax basis.

[Lion Den Dan]

A similar thought came to mind as I read the headline. However, I wondered if perhaps the IRS was not enabling or even committing these breaches to generate “secret” revenue the this bastard government could use “off the books.”

[RetiredTexasVet]

The administration said Russia did it (as they have for every other breach that they couldn’t pin on NK) ... but the administration has credibility issues since it lies about everything. Additionally, it is very probable that the IRS intentionally left the back door open. Furthermore, what the heck is the IRS even offering an app for “transcripts” on our private tax information?