MSNBC: IRS security flaws put taxpayers at risk, study finds

Millions exposed to possible ID theft

IRS security flaws put taxpayers at risk, study finds

Updated: 7:35 p.m. ET April 18, 2005

Computer-security flaws at the U.S. tax-collection agency expose millions of taxpayers to potential identity theft or illegal police snooping, according to a congressional report released Monday.

The Internal Revenue Service also is unlikely to know if outsiders are browsing through citizens' tax returns, because it doesn't effectively police its computer systems for unauthorized use, the Government Accountability Office found.

The report was released three days after the deadline for filing personal income-tax returns, and at a time when concerns about identity theft and computer security are running high.

"This lack of systems security at the IRS is completely unacceptable and needs to be corrected immediately," said House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican.

More at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7549496/

And mailed in.