Information Systems Strategic Decision Making Within the Irs

Information Systems Strategic Decision Making within the IRS

In the year 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) prevented more than 35 million unauthorized access attempts, with about one-third of this malicious activity originating from outside the country (IRS Strategic Plan). The IRS has realized that data vulnerability is on the rise, and criminals are focused on accessing personal information. In 2008, online scams to steal federal income tax personal data increased significantly. Today, the IRS continues to strategize how to modernize their systems, improve training, and continually enhance safeguards, in order to meet increased taxpayer expectations and maintain data security (IRS Strategic Plan).

The IRS confronts both physical and electronic threats to maintain the public’s trust. The agency secures their people and systems to ensure their operations run smoothly and continuously. Every laptop at the IRS is equipped with sophisticated disk encryption software to protect against unauthorized use of sensitive data. Securing infrastructure, data, and applications, allows IRS to manage access to taxpayer information so that they can provide quality and timely service while protecting taxpayers’ information. (IRS Strategic Plan)

The IRS makes every effort to improve service to taxpayers and to enforce the law to ensure everyone meets their obligation to pay taxes. The IRS has been increasingly turning their attention to opportunities for achieving partnership advantages through information technology. The phenomena can be attributed to factors such as an increase in the complexity of tax advantages, growing human capital challenges, explosion in electronic data, accelerating globalization, and expanding roles of tax practitioners and business models. The agency has extended efforts to strengthen partnerships with tax practitioners, preparers, and other third parties in the system (IRS Strategic Plan). Northrop Grumman Corporation has been known to work...