IRS published online thousands of Social Security numbers

The Internal Revenue Service mistakenly exposed as many as 2,319 Social Security numbers by posting them on the Internet, which a California-based archivist discovered last week.
The IRS has already come under scrutiny for targeting conservative political groups more frequently for audits and wasting millions of dollars on luxury hotels, alcohol, parody videos and
tickets to sports games. The latest allegations against the IRS serve as further embarrassment to an agency that has been under fire for months.
Archivist Carl Malamud of Bulk Resource has long requested that
the IRS publicly release transaction documents of nonprofit
political groups, which are known as 527s, to allow the public to
monitor the spending of charities and other such organizations.
The tax forms that these nonprofit groups are required to file
are then added to a database, which the IRS has often sent to
Malamud for release on his website, Public.Resource.org.
But the IRS told Malamud to disregard the Form 990-Ts, which it
had including in its January release. This update contained more
than 3,000 tax returns, about 319 of which contained sensitive
data, including Social Security numbers.
Once Public.Resource.org noticed
that the files contained sensitive information on July 2, they
were immediately removed from the site and replaced with a new
version. Bulk Resource contacted senior White House officials to
notify them of the privacy violations, but the administration did
not remove the files from public view until July 3, leaving them
available for nearly a full day.

“The IRS has a policy that even in an emergency, their staff
are not allowed to use e-mail to communicate with organizations
such as ours, a policy that makes it much harder to respond to
incidents quickly,” Malamud wrote in a press release. “The
IRS has recklessly violated the privacy of Americans and
deliberately tried to keep scrutiny away from our worst
charities.”
He noted that IRS data security efforts are “unprofessional
and amateur,” and is now urging the agency to shut down
access to its 527 database to prevent the potential release of
any more private information that may be in the documents.
In a report filed to the inspector general’s office, Malamud said
that four unique IP addresses had clicked on the documents a
total of eight times, but that no privacy complaints had been
made. It remains unclear whether or not any identity thieves took
advantage of the information before it was taken off the
Internet.
“It is time now for the administration to send a tiger team
over to the I.R.S. to help fix their information management
practices,” Malamud wrote. “The I.R.S. has indulged too
often in bad Information Technology and this habit has become
ingrained in the culture and procedures of the Service. It is
time now for the I.R.S. to admit that it needs help. That is the
first step towards recovery.”
Public.Resource.org has
long worked to make nonprofit tax returns more accessible, and
launched its effort at the request of Internet activist and
computer programmer Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide in
January. But the group believes that by mistakenly releasing
Social Security numbers, the IRS has proven its unprofessional
manner and conducted a “serious violation of federal law.”
Republished with permission from: RT

Views: 79

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted a blog post
9 hours ago
pohonemas33 team commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

DejaVu

"nice very goodjob, i wish you can visit official situs pohonemas33"
16 hours ago
Sandy posted a photo
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post
yesterday
Saint Quinn favorited Burbia's video
Friday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Thursday
Burbia commented on tjdavis's blog post The Jewish Couple That Taught Bob Dylan Hebrew and Introduced Him to Zionism
"Haaretz put this story behind a pay wall. Sali Ariel and Terry Noble were the names of the couple…"
Wednesday
William Heckman is now a member of 12160 Social Network
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

"It's a sad day on the highway. But I guess the show must go on. Watch out for the ruination of…"
Wednesday
cheeki kea posted a video

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future ForeverWelcome to Ride Radar – Your Frontline Source for Motorcycle Deals, Trends & Market Mayhem.Looking for t...
Wednesday
tjdavis posted a photo
Wednesday
Burbia posted a status
"Who knew releasing the MLK files and literally deflecting, it ends up implicating himself with the Epstein Files."
Tuesday
Burbia posted a video

Dan Bilzerian DEMOLISHES MAGA Nutjob Patrick Bet-David on His Own Show

Watch as two powerhouse personalities collide in this no-holds-barred debate on one of the world’s most contentious issues. Patrick Bet-David, known for his ...
Monday
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Jul 20
tjdavis's 2 blog posts were featured
Jul 20
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's blog post Track AIPAC
Jul 20
FREEDOMROX's blog post was featured

MRNA VACCINES: Question

Hello my fellow sojourners,I know it has been five years since the Plandemic, but one question has…See More
Jul 20
Less Prone favorited FREEDOMROX's blog post MRNA VACCINES: Question
Jul 20
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Jul 19

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted