Irs Blamed In Massive South Carolina Data Breach

#1 PCWorld

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 06:01 AM

Post your comments for IRS blamed in massive South Carolina data breach here

#2 SirTekaLotw6xs

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 06:10 AM

I don't understand why Mr. Etter has to resign if he did nothing wrong?

#3 Victarr

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 06:54 AM

As with all government jobs, its not what he did, its what others think he could have done. It seems that all government employers like to use others as scape goats to make themselves look like they are addressing the problems that occurred on their watch. So Mr. Etter pays the price.

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#4 ReadandShare

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 10:30 AM

SC blamed the IRS because the IRS did not mandate encryption of sensitive data?? C'mon!! SC's own DOR personnel should know better.

Now, if the IRS had forbade encryption, then it would deserve blame -- but that wasn't the case, was it?

#5 mikearm

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 10:34 AM

Encrypting SSN's has long been a "best practice" and any IT manager should know that.

#6 samies

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Posted 21 November 2012 - 12:57 PM

Quote

Encrypting SSN's has long been a "best practice" and any IT manager should know that.

They would have had to pay some IT person more than $10 an hour to do that... I'm in IT and SC taxpayer. I want blood! But it isn't the IRS'!

#7 KrystalKlear

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Posted 22 November 2012 - 05:13 AM

It's the fault of the 1970's equipment! It's the fault of the IRS for not requiring the encryption of Social Security numbers! I'm surprised they didn't include sun spots, solar flares and bad juju.

#8 johnsiem

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Posted 22 November 2012 - 12:04 PM

There are so many questions I want to ask. Did their endpoint security detect an intrusion? Was someone asleep at the security console? How aggressive is their user security awareness training? What countermeasures and detection systems did they have to prevent an information breach? How compliant were they with PCI DSS?

I've dealt and worked in security circles for awhile and understand two universal truths. One, while company decision makers watch the news on breaches, they've convinced themselves that breaches won't happen to them and therefore avoid the whole topic. Two, cybercriminals are attacking employees with the good ole fashion email. Further complicating things, truth ONE keeps truth TWO from being a topic for action in executive meetings.