US tax agency blasted for IT security leaks

The computer system for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax agency, suffers from 60 security holes, 21 of which have been known since 2002, a government report has warned.

The organisation's mainframe system lacks adequate access control and is unable to assess if the system has been hacked due to inadequate monitoring, said the study that was conducted by the US Government Accountability Office.

IRS's non-compliance with standard security practices puts taxpayers at risk for identity theft, the investigation found. It allows individuals to enter the computer system and alter records and puts the continuity of operations at the IRS at risk.

The report was dated April 15, the official deadline by which Americans had to file their taxes for 2004. The organisation collects about $2 trillion in taxes each year.

The warning comes at a time when the computer industry is plagued by a slew of computer hacks. Last week Reed Elsevier said that hackers had stolen information of about 310,000 Americans. Also last week the financial services company HSBC warned that outdated point of sales equipment at Polo Ralph Laurens retail stores in the US had potentially exposed confidential information for 180,000 individuals.