An audit report [PDF]conducted by the US Treasury Inspector reveals that 2200 IRS databases were considered vulnerable to potential cyberattack.
According to the Los Angeles Times the issue largely revolves around software maintenance of the databases, or a lack thereof:
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that an audit of IRS databases revealed that 2,200 databases the IRS employs to “to manage and process taxpayer data are not configured securely, are running out-of-date software, and no longer receive security patches.”
The audit, completed in May but released publicly on Thursday, also said that the IRS had not completed its plans to scan its many databases for vulnerabilities.
However, The IRS says that taxpayer information isn’t at risk, as it isn’t kept in the databases deemed vulnerable. [U.S. Treasury via LA Times]