Report Says IRS Software Program Isn&#39;t Doing The Job
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The program, designed to let the agency detect and analyze cases of unauthorized access to taxpayer data, hasn&#39;t worked correctly since the IRS took delivery in 2002.
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(InfoWorld) - Two U.S. government agencies are embracing performance-engineering processes and application testing throughout the development cycle as a way to avoid costly fixes after deployment, officials there said Wednesday. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said they've deployed performance-engineering software in recent years, and it has helped cut down on problems after development. "If you catch an error in development, the cost is the cost," said John Chambliss, manager of the IRS WAN management team. "Once you get to [operations and maintenance], it's about 100 times the cost." For the past two years, the IRS has used application performance management software from Opnet Technologies in Maryland to fix problems in the development of its portals that allow Web-based tax filings, Chambliss said at Opnet's annual conference in Washington, D.C. If electronic filing doesn't work, the IRS has major problems, he said. The IRS uses Opnet's software on in-house development and also encourages outside developers to use it, Chambliss said. The IRS has run into several IT problems in recent years. In 2006, the agency paid out more than $381 million in improper tax returns because of problems with a new Web-based version of software that detected fraudulent returns. Carolyn Aragon, enterprise operations center manager for the Forest Service, said her agency has been using Opnet application performance management software for about eight months. The agency has used the software to help with the development of two applications, including one that allows vendors to create invoices for firefighting services, she said. Chambliss and Aragon, along with representatives of Opnet and three private customers, participated in a forum on successful implementations of application performance management software. One of the major advantages of application performance management is testing how changes to software will affect how they run, added Peco Karayanev, senior systems engineer at National Instruments, an engineering design testing vendor. Application performance management helps the company roll out changes "without completely destroying the service we're providing customers," he said. It's sometimes difficult to get developers to buy into application management, added Farid Dana, director of Dell's global operations for telecommunication networks. "You don't tell them it's [application management]," he said. "You tell them its application enhancement. Then, they're receptive." While the forum participants sung the praises of application performance management, many organizations are still looking at the technology. "We're at that stage in the adoption curve where it's getting out there," said Alain Cohen, Opnet's president and CTO. In many cases, an organization needs to run into serious problems with application development before they see a need, Chambliss said. Cohen agreed. One large company used "war rooms" during their application development, he said. Instead of a typical war room, where an organization would map out a strategy, this company's war rooms were places where employees would argue about who's to blame for an application's failure, he said. Application performance management can pinpoint problems in development and "the 'blamestorming' can stop," he said. "Some organizations need to get burned before they say, 'Okay, maybe we need to go back and call Opnet.'"
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Imposing government security standards on software companies is not the answer to improving the security of the country&#39;s computer networks, a US Department of Homeland Security official said Thursday.
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By Brent D. Wistrom and Joe Rodriguez, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.  Jun. 1--The IRS has contacted a Wichita church about whether it has violated rules that prohibit churches from engaging in most political activity, the church's pastor said Thursday.
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The U.S. government has squandered millions of dollars intended for police training programs in Iraq because of rampant problems overseeing contractors, according to federal reviews released yesterday.
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The Internal Revenue Service gave away $318 million in improper refunds this year because a computer program that screens tax returns for fraud wasn't working, according to a report released Friday.
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The tax specialist continues to struggle with certain non-tax business units.
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The failure on Friday of a computer system used to help track airplanes flying across the U.S. led to delays and cancelled flights -- and federal officials still aren't sure what went wrong.
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WASHINGTON - A $38 million US effort to create a computerized accounting system for the Iraqi government has been suspended because the Ministry of Finance there has continued to use a paper system, according to the latest report of Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.
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If you&#39;ve been expecting an income-tax refund but haven&#39;t received it yet, there&#39;s a way to check with the Internal Revenue Service.
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Business & money: Technical problems are preventing taxpayers from filing their self-assessment forms
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By Avrum D. Lank, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  Sep. 17--If you hear from the Internal Revenue Service, it is prudent to respond -- unless, that is, the first contact is by e-mail.
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By the Telegram Staff. An annual IRS review shows 329 federal tax refunds totaling more than $174,000 belonging to Nebraska taxpayers were returned to the IRS as undeliverable.
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Fraud in the &#36;300-billion-a-year Medicaid program is widespread and the federal government is not doing enough to combat it, congressional investigators said in a report released Wednesday.
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The Internal Revenue Service is looking for more than 100 West Virginia taxpayers but they have no reason to fear. The IRS said 186 West Virginia taxpayers have not claimed their tax refunds.
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About one in three Americans think it&#39;s more likely they&#39;ll be audited by the IRS or win the lottery than fall victim to a virus or worm, the non-profit National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) said Friday as it released the results of a September survey.
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SPRINGFIELD - The Internal Revenue Service is waiting to hear from more than 2,700 Illinois residents who still haven&#39;t received their 2003 federal tax refunds.