Data security

Ransomware—malware that can block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid to the perpetrator—is targeting professionals in ways that are likely to cause the unsuspecting to open an infected file.

Xero has updated its online invoicing feature with the aim of helping small businesses get paid faster.

The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee issued its annual report Wednesday, with recommendations calling on the Internal Revenue Service to expand its electronic filing efforts and digital strategy, and to offer end-to-end capabilities on online accounts for both taxpayers and tax professionals.

Verizon released its ninth annual Data Breach Investigations Report last month, which reports on the major security breaches and methods used by hackers to compromise businesses and governmental organizations.

The Big Four accounting firms have come roaring back into the consulting field in the years after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 forced three of them to shed their consulting units and now dominate the U.S. consulting market, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service failed to identify and assist all taxpayers who may have been affected by the data breach in its online “Get Transcript” application, according to a new government report.

The Internal Revenue Service has restored the Get Transcript online application that it took down last year, adding improved multi-factor authentication processes to safeguard the program from being exploited by identity thieves.

The average length of time between a new computer being hooked up to the Internet and its being targeted by hackers is six minutes, experts warn -- so it’s critical to establish a defense in depth against cyber-invasion.

Thomson Reuters released a special report, What to Do If Your Client is a Victim of Tax-Related Identity Theft, providing guidance for tax professionals advising victims of ID theft.

More and more taxpayers are turning towards do-it-yourself tax software to prepare and file business and individual income tax returns.