Comments on: Senate tax proposal under scrutiny

The U.S. Senate mulls expanding how the IRS can use the Internet to contact American taxpayers. But privacy and security concerns linger.

[hadaso]

such email should be encrypted

Email on its way can be read by anyone on the way. It may also be stored on the way, and there is no gurantee that the eauipment used to temporarily store it would not eventually get to the wrong heads (e.g., a disk would be replaced, but old deleted data on it can still be read with proper equipment). Email routed between two points in one country can pass through another country.

[hadaso]

such email should be encrypted

Email on its way can be read by anyone on the way. It may also be stored on the way, and there is no gurantee that the eauipment used to temporarily store it would not eventually get to the wrong heads (e.g., a disk would be replaced, but old deleted data on it can still be read with proper equipment). Email routed between two points in one country can pass through another country.

[hadaso]

such email should be encrypted

Email on its way can be read by anyone on the way. It may also be stored on the way, and there is no gurantee that the eauipment used to temporarily store it would not eventually get to the wrong heads (e.g., a disk would be replaced, but old deleted data on it can still be read with proper equipment). Email routed between two points in one country can pass through another country.

[hadaso]

such email should be encrypted

Email on its way can be read by anyone on the way. It may also be stored on the way, and there is no gurantee that the eauipment used to temporarily store it would not eventually get to the wrong heads (e.g., a disk would be replaced, but old deleted data on it can still be read with proper equipment). Email routed between two points in one country can pass through another country.

[jabbotts]

Make tax processes better by removing security?

For whom, exactly, does removing security make the tax process easier and more secure for? Let's look again incase you missed it:

"One section lets the IRS use the Internet to let Americans know that they're owed tax refunds. Another directs the IRS to regulate any programmer who "develops software that is used to prepare or file a tax return"; a third lets the IRS open confidential tax records to the FBI and other police without maintaining logs of who saw what information."

One of these things is not like the other
One of these thigns just doesn't belong

Did you spot it? Use the mighty WAN refered to as the interweb for communications; novel, but it just might work. Regulate production of software relating to taxes; I kinda thought that might be done already. REMOVE security put inplace to protect the (inocent until proven guilty) public's information collected through tax processes; What? How does this benifit the tax payer? How (in a world where data machines are the new cool toy) exactly is it just too gosh-golly much work to require a supena (spelling?), maintain a sign-in log and afterward destory printed copy? Perhaps this would be too much to ask if the NSA was going to audit every citizen. After all, that means recording evidence that the No Such Agency exists and operates with the understanding that everyone is guilty until proven inocent.

But we know how this plays out in the end; it's for the good of the nation. No, how about to support the war on child abuse. Wait, sorry, now it's to support the war on terrorism.

But still the nagging questions:
Why does the FBI need unfetted access to tax payers information?
Why is it too much to ask that their reasons be reviewed by a judge?
Why is it too much to ask that a log be kept of who looked at information on whom?

As for the IRS plan to use the internet; I'm surprised they hadn't caught on to this whole "interweb" thing earlier. Sure anyone who's been online for more than a minute is going to be suspicious of any email refering to money and rightly so. Encrypted email would be nice and soon enough will become the norm but currently the number of people who bother to or understand encrypting of email is pretty small. Email obviously would have to be done in such a way as not too include personal information (banks seem to do it well enough) and too be backed up with mailed documents. The webserver idea should be easier to implement since any server going online today has the same security threats as a publicly accessed IRS server would; hire a good admin and research the best apps and config practices.

[jabbotts]

Make tax processes better by removing security?

For whom, exactly, does removing security make the tax process easier and more secure for? Let's look again incase you missed it:

"One section lets the IRS use the Internet to let Americans know that they're owed tax refunds. Another directs the IRS to regulate any programmer who "develops software that is used to prepare or file a tax return"; a third lets the IRS open confidential tax records to the FBI and other police without maintaining logs of who saw what information."

One of these things is not like the other
One of these thigns just doesn't belong

Did you spot it? Use the mighty WAN refered to as the interweb for communications; novel, but it just might work. Regulate production of software relating to taxes; I kinda thought that might be done already. REMOVE security put inplace to protect the (inocent until proven guilty) public's information collected through tax processes; What? How does this benifit the tax payer? How (in a world where data machines are the new cool toy) exactly is it just too gosh-golly much work to require a supena (spelling?), maintain a sign-in log and afterward destory printed copy? Perhaps this would be too much to ask if the NSA was going to audit every citizen. After all, that means recording evidence that the No Such Agency exists and operates with the understanding that everyone is guilty until proven inocent.

But we know how this plays out in the end; it's for the good of the nation. No, how about to support the war on child abuse. Wait, sorry, now it's to support the war on terrorism.

But still the nagging questions:
Why does the FBI need unfetted access to tax payers information?
Why is it too much to ask that their reasons be reviewed by a judge?
Why is it too much to ask that a log be kept of who looked at information on whom?

As for the IRS plan to use the internet; I'm surprised they hadn't caught on to this whole "interweb" thing earlier. Sure anyone who's been online for more than a minute is going to be suspicious of any email refering to money and rightly so. Encrypted email would be nice and soon enough will become the norm but currently the number of people who bother to or understand encrypting of email is pretty small. Email obviously would have to be done in such a way as not too include personal information (banks seem to do it well enough) and too be backed up with mailed documents. The webserver idea should be easier to implement since any server going online today has the same security threats as a publicly accessed IRS server would; hire a good admin and research the best apps and config practices.

[Too Old For IT]

Government "Security"?

We are talking about the same government that could not keep 26 million names, addresses and social security numbers of veterans out of the hands of common theives, right?

Let me send all the employees of the federal government a message: You are a bureaucrat. NOthing you do is so important that, if not done my 5:00 PM, cannot wait until the morrow. Neither you, nor your work, are important enough to potentially jeopardize even one citizen's personal information.

Understand?

[Too Old For IT]

Government "Security"?

We are talking about the same government that could not keep 26 million names, addresses and social security numbers of veterans out of the hands of common theives, right?

Let me send all the employees of the federal government a message: You are a bureaucrat. NOthing you do is so important that, if not done my 5:00 PM, cannot wait until the morrow. Neither you, nor your work, are important enough to potentially jeopardize even one citizen's personal information.

Understand?

[MrHandle]

A great victory for crooks.

Wow. This would be a computer villians dream come true. They could just impersonate the IRS to send all kinds of spam with viruses, data stealing programs etc... Encryption? No problem. The bad guys can just encypt viruses etc... with their encrypted bogus email. I can't think of anything more "terrifying" than a government that doesnt' have its citizenry's best interest in mind and all the tools to work against that interest.

[MrHandle]

A great victory for crooks.

Wow. This would be a computer villians dream come true. They could just impersonate the IRS to send all kinds of spam with viruses, data stealing programs etc... Encryption? No problem. The bad guys can just encypt viruses etc... with their encrypted bogus email. I can't think of anything more "terrifying" than a government that doesnt' have its citizenry's best interest in mind and all the tools to work against that interest.

[wbenton]

An accident waiting for a place to happen!

Dumb people make the same mistakes over and over.

Smart people learn from their own mistakes.

Intelligent people learn from other's mistakes.

That said... the IRS is definately DUMB!!!

Nuff said. (* GRIN *)

FWIW

[wbenton]

An accident waiting for a place to happen!

Dumb people make the same mistakes over and over.

Smart people learn from their own mistakes.

Intelligent people learn from other's mistakes.

That said... the IRS is definately DUMB!!!

Nuff said. (* GRIN *)

FWIW

[richtestani]

Privacy concerns?

This is the same government who is wiretapping their citezens, is
pushing to watch Internet habits and reading personal emails?

Why would would privacy even be a concern at this pint.

[richtestani]

Privacy concerns?

This is the same government who is wiretapping their citezens, is
pushing to watch Internet habits and reading personal emails?

Why would would privacy even be a concern at this pint.