IRS Servers Hacked - Better Call Apple
The IRS admitted recently that a 2015 cyber hack of their servers potentially exposed the personal data from more than 700,000 taxpayer accounts (1). The information includes Social Security numbers, birth dates and other data that hackers could use to impersonate the taxpayers involved who then file false federal tax returns to collect refunds.
Aside from being corrupt, the IRS is obviously incompetent as well.
It's not just the IRS - Obama's State Department and White House were also hacked into by the Russians (2).
According to Congressman Jason Chaffetz almost every Obama government agency is either corrupt or run by incompetents (3).
Instead of asking Apple to loosen security on iPhones, the Feds should be asking Apple to help make government servers and programs more secure.
The last thing any corporation should do is to allow any government agency to control security programs.
ENDNOTES
(1):
Stars and Stripes, 27 Feb 2016, Cyber hack got access to over 700,000 IRS accounts
A 2015 cyber hack of the IRS potentially gained access to personal data from more than 700,000 taxpayer accounts, more than double the total previously estimated, the tax agency said Friday.
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The unidentified electronic attackers got in, giving the IRS an embarrassing black eye, by taking taxpayer information they acquired elsewhere and using it to correctly answer personal identity-verification questions in the "Get Transcript" application on the agency's website.
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The cyber breach represents one of many computer problems the IRS has confronted in recent years.
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Separately, at least seven federal audits and other reports from 2007 to 2014 outlined computer dangers that ranged from failures in IRS database controls to hiring an ex-convict without a background check and failing to screen other workers who had access to personal data for millions of taxpayers.
"Computer security has been problematic for the IRS since 1997," the IRS inspector general warned in an an October 2014 report.
(2):
USA Today, 7 Apr 2015, Russians hacked White House computers
Russian hackers penetrated the White House's computer system and gained access to information including private details of President Obama's schedule, according to a report by CNN Tuesday.
Citing investigators not identified by name, the news network reported that unidentified Russia-based hackers first accessed State Department networks and used that to gain access to the White House systems. No classified information was accessed, the White House told CNN.
(3):
Politico Magazine, 27 Apr 2015, Federal Rules Support Incompetence
Just what does a federal employee have to do to get fired?
At the Environmental Protection Agency, a federal employee who does no work is paid a full salary plus a performance award. This despite having no building pass, no computer connected to the EPA network and no evidence of having completed any work in at least five years. In addition to being paid roughly $600,000 by the American taxpayers during this time period, this employee was allowed to retire with a full pension.
Story Continued BelowIn Phoenix, 40 veterans died waiting for lifesaving care. Instead of addressing the urgent health care needs of our nation’s heroes, Veterans Affairs employees spent their time manipulating records to qualify for bonuses. As a result, more than $10 million in performance bonuses were distributed to VA workers.
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Successful companies operate efficiently because they are nimble and lean. Our investigative work has revealed that in too many cases, the rules prevent the federal workforce from being either.
