Data security

The Internal Revenue Service’s new security measures this tax season to counter identity theft and tax fraud appear to be having little impact so far on criminals, according to a security expert who monitors the online chat rooms where fraudsters swap taxpayers’ sensitive personal and financial information.

The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday evening its tax-processing systems have suffered a hardware failure and that tax processing could be affected into Thursday.

Taxpayers are increasingly aware of identity theft-related tax fraud this year and are concerned about becoming victims, according to a new survey.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon said the AICPA is pushing the Internal Revenue Service to improve its services for both taxpayers and CPAs while preparing to become a more international organization.

The Internal Revenue Service is urging all tax preparers to do a thorough security scan of their computer drives and devices in case there is any malware lurking.

Intuit announced security enhancements across its suite of professional tax products, including Intuit Tax Online, ProSeries and Lacerte, as part of the company’s continued work with the IRS, states and industry to combat tax fraud.

Growth, collaboration, and a concentration on fraud and data security will be impactful nonprofit accounting trends in 2016, according to nonprofit software provider Abila.

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that taxpayers are receiving letters with the wrong date listed for their Identity Protection Personal Identification Numbers, which are generally issued to victims of tax-related identity theft.

The IRS has not established a service-wide approach to managing effective authentication processes and procedures for individual taxpayers’ identities, according to a new report.

Chief financial officers and corporate finance teams are taking on a larger role in protecting companies from cyber-risks, according to a new survey.

The omnibus spending bill signed into law last week gives the Internal Revenue Service an additional $290 million in funds – but it must be spent only taxpayer services and efforts against tax-related identity theft.

Our editors’ picks for what made news in the profession this year (text version)

The American Institute of CPAs has created an illustrative SOC 2 report to help CPAs report on controls over protected health information.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to make improvements in the way it assists victims of tax-related identity theft after a new government report says further improvements are needed.

The Internal Revenue Service sent out an alert Tuesday warning tax preparers about an phishing email message purporting to ask them to update their IRS e-Services information.

The Internal Revenue Service is beginning the next round of its battle against tax-related identity theft by debuting a public awareness campaign to persuade more taxpayers to safeguard their personal information, in conjunction with tax preparation companies and state tax authorities.

For filing season 2016, the Internal Revenue Service will test a capability to verify the authenticity of W-2 data as part of a series of steps to combat tax-related ID theft and refund fraud.

In accounting, there is a best practice that CPAs know they should implement but often put off: encryption.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to improve its detection of business identity theft, according to a new government report.

The Internal Revenue Service is cautioning tax preparers that they are prime targets for identity thieves who are looking for data to use when filing fraudulent tax returns.