Cybersecurity

Cryptocurrency tracking improves -- but how?

The IRS and other tax enforcement agencies are touting big improvements in tracing the use of cryptocurrencies in tax evasion and other criminal schemes. They just don't want to talk about how.

Digital Government

Security, modernization and people are key IRS challenges

The IRS should focus the next year on modernizing IT, improving security controls for its primary e-filing tool, eliminating critical vulnerabilities in servers used for personal devices and addressing its "serious" human capital crisis, according to Treasury auditors.

Modernization

Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free

The success of TurboTax relies on whether the U.S. government makes tax filing simple and free for most citizens.

Modernization

$341M telecom task order key to IRS modernization

The IRS plans to support modernization of customer-facing operations via its Enterprise Infrastructure Services buy.

Digital Government

Report: IRS Should Have an Official In Charge of Customer Experience

The agency could also improve its website and share more feedback, analysts conclude in first-of-its-kind report.

Modernization

Two more big agencies issue EIS task orders

The Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service both signed off on EIS contracts last month.

Cybersecurity

IRS Testing Behavioral Analytics to Verify Online Users

The agency is piloting a proof-of-concept that will track how individual taxpayers interact with its online systems.

Cybersecurity

Treasury IG Finds ‘Significant Vulnerabilities’ in IRS’ BYOD Program

The IRS’ bring-your-own-device program could increase the risk of data leakage, according to the Treasury Inspector General.

Modernization

Treasury floats $1B cloud buy

The Department of Treasury has released a new acquisition road map designed to shepherd the IRS into the cloud era while emphasizing buying to support shared services.

Emerging Tech

Federal RPA Solutions Have One Thing In Common: No Two Are Alike

Robotic process automation leads from across government and industry met this week to share early lessons learned from efforts to automate federal agencies.

Cybersecurity

IRS identity theft enforcement activities plummet

In the latest sign enforcement has taken a back seat, a new audit finds that new identity theft cases at the resource-strapped agency have dropped by at least 75% since 2013.

Cybersecurity

IRS spent $1.2 million on unused data security software, auditors say

In 2010, IRS began implementing a large data loss prevention solution to protect taxpayer data. Nearly a decade later, only one-third of the system is operational.

Cybersecurity

IRS Warns of New Imposter Scam That Spreads Malware

Agency officials recently learned of a phishing campaign in which scammers pose as IRS agents to spread malware and scoop up users’ sensitive information.

Modernization

CBP to Process Billions in Trade Revenue Using IBM Cloud

The “mainframe-as-a-service” model allowed the agency to migrate one of its more resource-intensive processes to the cloud.

Acquisition

IRS tries agile acquisition for data tools

The first in a series of expected technology pilots at the agency will focus on robotic process and intelligent automation tools for contract data.

Digital Government

Watchdog urges IRS to expand e-filing

The inspector general at IRS wants the agency to ditch its error prone and largely manual process for examining amended individual tax returns and allow users to submit their changes through the same streamlined e-filing portal used for original returns.

Emerging Tech

IRS Doesn’t Have An R&D Shop, So It Built A $7M Procurement Vehicle Instead

The Pilot IRS program is about to issue its first solicitation, offering the agency a new way to automate low-level functions while testing a new acquisition method.

Cybersecurity

Another year, another raft of IT security concerns for IRS

A 2018 audit found 14 new deficiencies related to information system security controls for the tax agency.

Cybersecurity

IRS Still Has Dozens of Cyber Fixes to Make From Last Year

Numerous security deficiencies in the agency’s IT ecosystem could leave data on millions of taxpayers at risk, according to the Government Accountability Office.