Digital Government
IRS Is Catching More Phony Tax Refunds Before They Go Out
The agency is finding fewer fraudulent tax returns but is getting better at stopping payments on the ones it does.
Cybersecurity
Watchdog: IRS needs new tech to fight fraud
A Government Accountability Office report flagged identity theft and unpaid taxes as two of the most pressing challenges facing IRS. Better tech and planning could help solve both.
Modernization
IRS Wasted $3.4 Million on Software It Never Used, Watchdog Says
Auditors also found the agency bought a software product without testing that it worked for its intended purposes. It didn’t.
People
Judge cautions White House over shutdown recalls
A U.S. District judge said that planned recalls of feds during shutdowns for activities not directly related to protecting life or property could violate the Antideficiency Act.
Emerging Tech
Treasury Department Wants Smart Currency to Combat Counterfeiting
The agency’s printing office is asking for “novel and not commercially available” ideas for embedding tech in U.S. currency.
Modernization
IRS recalls employees to work without pay
With tax filing season colliding with the shutdown, the IRS is bringing back tens of thousands of employees to process returns -- and most IT staffers were already excepted and on the job.
People
Judge denies injunction in shutdown case
A federal judge denied an injunction in a union lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the practice of requiring some feds to work without pay during a shutdown. An injunction could have required feds currently deemed essential or excepted to be sent home.
Emerging Tech
IRS Wants to Be a Testbed for Bleeding-Edge Tech
The new pilot would create a phased buying process with ample testing in IRS environments.
Emerging Tech
The IRS Wants to Use Social Media to Catch Tax Cheats
Auditors would use the tool to shore up previously identified cases.
Modernization
Avoid data blindness with strategic IT portfolio management
When IT leaders only have a high-level view into their existing IT landscape and information gathering is ad hoc and time-consuming, the level of risk associated with decision-making is greatly heightened.
Modernization
Watchdog: IRS botched Linux migration
Poor IT governance has prevented the IRS from making progress on a long-term effort to migrate 141 legacy applications from proprietary vendor software to open-source Linux operating systems, according to an audit.
Modernization
IRS pilot program looks to jump-start IT innovation
The IRS is laying the groundwork for a series of pilot projects over the next year to flesh out its IT modernization priorities.
Digital Government
Government Data Detectives
A special report on how agency data shops are fighting fraud.
Cybersecurity
Treasury places digital currency addresses on sanctions list
The Treasury Department has publicly flagged two cryptocurrency addresses associated with two Iranian individuals indicted for their role in a worldwide, multimillion dollar ransomware campaign.
Emerging Tech
Ohio Now Accepts Bitcoin For Tax Payments. What Could Go Wrong?
Is this about grabbing some of the sizzle that comes with all things blockchain and crypto?
Cybersecurity
IRS Failed to Track 11,000 Breached Social Security Numbers for Tax Fraud
The tax agency also failed to review another 15,000 breached taxpayer ID numbers it received for possible fraud monitoring, an audit found.
Cybersecurity
IRS missed 11,000 compromised SSNs
An IRS office charged with monitoring and mitigating the impact of external data breaches is faltering when it comes to keeping track of the problem, according to an IG audit.
Emerging Tech
IRS Spent Millions to Set Up Virtual Assistance Centers That No One Is Using
Of the millions of taxpayers looking for help last year, only 2,700 used the Virtual Service Delivery stations.
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