From its public website. On march 7th the irs reported that it was temporarily suspending us of the ippin application as part of an ongoing security review. The irs does not anticipate having the technology in place for either the get transcript or ippin application to provide multifactor authentication capability before the summer of 2016. The number and sophistication of threats to taxpayer information will likely continue to increase and these threats will be a continued focus of our audit and investigative activity. Chairman hatch, Ranking Member widen, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to share my views. Thank you so much. We appreciate having your views and will now turn to mr. Dadaro and i understand the other two witnesses will be here to answer questions if necessary. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Good morning to you. Ranking member wyden, members of the committee, were pleased to discuss gaos work related to Computer Security at irs and Identity The
Who can keep taxpayer Information Safe. If you are a top notch tech expert, you already are taking a pay cut to work in Public Service compared to what youd earn at firms in oregon or california. Now, without what is called streamlined Critical Pay Authority, it can take four to six months to bring a new hire on board at the irs. So i want to be clear as we go to questions, taxpayer information is under assault every single day. But the irs does not have the Legal Authority it needs from the congress to build a Cybersecurity Team that can beat back the crooks. Already theres been an exodus of high ranking irs tech staff. The director of cybersecurity operations left a month ago. The terms for the remaining employees working under this Authority Continue to expire, including for one of our witnesses chief technology officer. Come 2017, there are not going to be any left. So today, instead of rehashing the past and just beating up on one agency or one firm, to me, the priority ought to b
We are live on capitol hill this morning where irs commissioner John Koskinen is set to testify on cybersecurity. Hell be appearing before the Senate Finance committee. Live coverage here on cspan 3. We expect it to start in just a few minutes. Again, waiting for the start of testimony from irs commissioner John Koskinen this morning. Hell be talking about cybersecurity and how the irs protects the information of taxpayers. This is taking place before the Senate Finance committee. Just a couple moments away. While we wait for this to get started, elsewhere on capitol hill today, visits continue for Supreme Court Justice Nominee Merrick Garland. Hes meeting with 14 senators today, seven democrats, six republicans and one independent. So far, he has had meetings with 21 senators, 18 democrats, 3 republicans. Oneonone meetings with senators to take place in their offices today. Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley was up first and they started at about the 7 45 today. There was
Enforcement actions and the lessons that we should take away from them. We must recognize that Enforcement Actions are just one part of the answer, so im interested in hearing also about how we can better inform computer users of the dangers of botnets and what other hygiene steps we can take to address this threat. My hope is that this hearing starts a conversation among those dealing day to day with the botnet threat and those of us in congress who are deeply concerned about that threat. Congress, of course, cannot and should not dictate tactics for fighting botnets. That must be driven by the expertise of those on the front lines of the fight, but congress does have an Important Role to make sure there is a solid Legal Foundation for Enforcement Actions against botnets and clear standards governing when they can occur. We must also ensure that botnet takedowns and other actions are carried out in a way that protects consumers privacy. All while recognizing that botnets themselves re
Better integrate those data systems, that will be a major step towards improving the services. The Second Barrier is getting institutionsndary thatt up bridge programs will allow the military inerience to be recognized any of the training and of theon and any training and education that was received in the military can be recognized so this these programs can be shortened for veterans. There is an effort by community colleges, the main educational institutions that are working in this area part of the problem is they are concerned there wont be enough demand for program once it is put up to the other is theres a lot of complexity found once it is put up. The other is there is a lot of complexity. Another one is raising Awareness Among licensing boards. This is of particular concern in the health area because of concerns about making sure the quality standards are met, loosening requirements may lower the quality standards and, in the medical area, that is a major concern. It is also lo