IRS (IDGETS) Screw-Up Leaks Thousands of Social Security Numbers

IRS Screw-Up Leaks Thousands of Social Security Numbers
July 8, 2013
http://www.blacklistednews.com/IRS_Screw-Up_Leaks_Thousands_of_Social_Security_Numbers/27195/0/38/38/Y/M.html
Source: Daily Finance

The IRS’s bad year just keeps getting worse.

Already dealing with a scandal involving its higher scrutiny of political groups seeking nonprofit status, and the revelation that it claims the power to read taxpayers’ emails, the agency is now facing questions about how it wound up leaking the Social Security numbers of thousands of taxpayers.

The issue arose within the agency’s searchable database of the filings of tax-exempt political groups, known as 527 Groups. Public.Resource.org, which has led the charge in pushing for greater transparency in the finances of these groups, took the unusual step of actually asking the IRS to take down the databases in question. The problem, it explained, is that the government forgot to redact the Social Security numbers of tens of thousands of individuals involved with those organizations.

The group says it notified the IRS of the oversight on July 2, and the database in question was taken down the next day.

“It is with greatly conflicted feelings that we requested the administration make the political organization database go dark temporarily,” says the group. “We understand that this is an essential tool for researchers and even temporary unavailability hurts their efforts. We hope and expect that the administration will act promptly to address the privacy violations and get the database back online.”
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IRS leaks!!! Maybe Venezuela or Ecuador will offer the IRS political asylum. I for one would be more than happy to see 'em gone.