Since I'm an Enrolled Agent licensed by the IRS to represent people I know all about IRS's security. It's a huge problem for them and by extension for all taxpayers because it is our money being stolen. The last number I heard a few years ago was 45 billion dollars. Think about that, that's half of the annual budget for Homeland Security.

They are stuck between trying to be accessable and helpful and keeping our data secure. The latest thing from IRS that was just announced last week is starting May 1, they will be instituting facial recognition from your phone any time you call them or try to log into your account. Why? Because password log ins with security questions and even sending a code to your phone still isn't enough to prevent thieves from accessing your personal tax return data through the IRS's online account portal. There is already blowback about that because they've contracted with a third party company to handle the software which then opens their potential security issues.

As for computer security, using a VPN pretty much solves all the issues talked about here. I use Express VPN. Everything you do is end to end encrypted and I shift my location on a weekly basis. One week it's LA, the next may be New York, the next Chicage, etc. The only way their logs can be accessed is by law enforcement. Short of that, nobody knows what I do online.

The funny thing is the ads I get keep shifting from city to city based on how set the VPN. For Chicago, I'll get ads for a local restaurant, for Seattle I may get an ad for the Mariners or a music store by Pioneer Square. Quite comical actually. Even a VPN is not perfect, once you're logged into a website they know who you are then that's voluntary and that site can track you and data mine you. But for regular internet surfing to news sites or whatever, no. The VPN stops all that crap.

Concerning location tracking, nobody has mentioned their car. Late model vehicles like maybe 10-15 years old or newer have been tracking everything you do as far as driving is concerned. It's all on the verious modules behind your dash and you have zero access to them. They track your navigation, speed, braking, all of it. Insurance companies routinely get that info from the auto companies for litigation purposes. Somebody T bones you in an intersection by running the red light? Sounds like a slam dunk, right? His fault not yours. What happens if you were speeding through the intersection even though you had the green light? ;Your car tells them that. Now it's a split liability thing. Maybe 70/30 him and you or something. And don't forget the traffic violation. Him for running a red light and you for speeding.

Like many here I don't worry about it and really don't care about Apple/MS and website trackers. I'm more concerned with some actual person or bad actor hacking my system and getting my clients info. Other than that, it is what it is, my data is all over the place and has been out there for years.

Bob


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