How well is the IRS protecting confidential data that’s stored on their devices? A key element of assuring confidentiality is “sanitization” of laptops, desktops and smartphones, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). In an audit, TIGTA found that the “IRS is not using an approved sanitization product to overwrite sensitive taxpayer data.” Also, while most devices are sanitized, the independent verification of sanitization is ineffective. Some computers were missing hard disks and some contained errors that could fail to protect readable information. An audit of smartphone sanitization found no problems. Here’s the TIGTA audit: http://bit.ly/2ZApZGB