IRS lost all email to and from WH

[F3SS]

Excerpts from a quick and easy search.

The technology of the IRS...

http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/mutual-funds/articles/2013/04/04/irs-high-tech-tools-track-your-digital-footprints

IRS's big data tracking. Consumers are already familiar with Internet "cookies" that track their movements and send them targeted ads that follow them to different websites. The IRS has brought in private industry experts to employ similar digital tracking—but with the added advantage of access to Social Security numbers, health records, credit card transactions and many other privileged forms of information that marketers don't see.

"Private industry would be envious if they knew what our models are," boasted Dean Silverman, the agency's high-tech top gun who heads a group recruited from the private sector to update the IRS, in a comment reported in trade publications. The IRS did not respond to a request for an interview.

In trade presentations and public documents, the agency has said it will use a massively parallel computer system that can analyze data from different networks to find irregularities and suspicious activities.

Much of the work already has been automated to process and analyze electronic tax returns in current "robo-audits" that flag unusual behavior patterns. With IRS audit staff reduced by budget cuts this year, the agency will be forced to rely on computer-generated audits more than ever.

The agency declined to comment on how it will use its new technology. But agency officials have been outlining plans at industry conferences, working with IBM, EMC and other private-sector specialists. In presentations, officials have said they may use the big data for:

• Charting and analyzing social media such as Facebook

• Targeting audits by matching tax filings to social media or electronic payments

• Tracking individual Internet addresses and emailing patterns

• Sorting data in 32,000 categories of metadata and 1 million unique "attributes"

• Machine learning across "neural" networks

• Statistical and agent-based modeling

• Relationship analysis based on Social Security numbers and other personal identifiers

Officials have said much of the data will be used only for research. The agency's economic forecasts and data are a key part of Washington's budget infrastructure. Former commissioner Douglas Shulman said in an IRS statement that the technology will employ "billions of pieces of data" to target enforcement and to "detect and combat noncompliance."

[/Quote]

The agency, wary of public opinion about invasive audit practices, has pulled back from using so-called "social audits," which, for example, might single out horse-racing enthusiasts or sailboaters for special attention. But by screening existing data for one million unique attributes, the agency can quietly create a DNA-like code to understand the economic behavior of any individual.

Lots of computing power, for what? The agency's computers can now load all U.S. tax returns in just 10 hours, compared with the four months it took just eight years ago, Jeff Butler, IRS director of research databases told the IBM TechAmerica conference last November. That leaves a lot of time for other uses. The IRS says it expects 80 percent of its tax returns to be filed electronically this year. That makes a total of 250 million returns filed, with $2 trillion in revenue.

But processing those returns uses only a fraction of the agency's computing power. An entire year of tax returns amounts to 15 terabytes, or just 1.5 percent of the IRS storage of 1.2 petabytes (one quadrillion bits of information), based on public data from IRS presentations. The agency has expanded its data capacity by 1,000 percent in the past six years.

It also recently assembled $350 million in high-tech tools to do a lot of auditing, tracking and analyzing what people do on the Internet. The agency has used social media and other third-party sources in the past, but it has now increased its capability to so from its own growing database of networks.

Not bad for 1980's tech... Your turn Ninjadude.

[Yamato]

Did the White House lose all email to and from the IRS?

[Wickian]

Well, when you're using technology from 10-30 years ago, yeah things crash. And probably, they don't backup each employees computer. It's decades ago processes and technology.

Federal law demands all agencies keep multiple backups of all files/communications. If the IRS of all things failed to keep it's records it is at the very least grossly incompetent, and at most probably engaged in criminal activity.

[Thelaw1]

This reeks of Nixon and his infamous 25+ minutes of missing auto on the Nixon tapes.

And I know people call conservatives paranoid with respect to this scandal but seriously, the IRS and the Gov't have officially lost the benefit of the doubt. At every step they keep reinforcing the notion that they have done something wrong. At every step.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Thelaw1

[MiskatonicGrad]

F3SS come on that's what IRS uses to process taxes it would be unseemly for them to use it for something as trivial as communications with the White House.

I'm sure old Lois fires up her trusty commodore 64 for that kind of stuff.

[F3SS]

F3SS come on that's what IRS uses to process taxes it would be unseemly for them to use it for something as trivial as communications with the White House.

I'm sure old Lois fires up her trusty commodore 64 for that kind of stuff.

Yep, which has about as much memory to store two emails with attachments. Yamoto is right. All one needs is Lois's email address to search email hosting servers. She sent emails to other people who definitely don't use retro-tech not that storing email inside the computer is remotely plausible.

[ninjadude]

Not bad for 1980's tech... Your turn Ninjadude.

while I'm sure that's true, it's completely beside the point. They could have super computers for all kinds of analysis, but the ones on the DESKTOP where they apparently keep their EMAIL are not mentioned.

[ninjadude]

Federal law demands all agencies keep multiple backups of all files/communications. If the IRS of all things failed to keep it's records it is at the very least grossly incompetent, and at most probably engaged in criminal activity.

That's true. In fact, the IRS policy stupidly says that they're supposed to PRINT all their emails. Talk about 1980s. But yes, apparently despite having a stupid policy, the actual IRS workers ignored it. And didn't have a backup system. These things cost money which Republicans in Congress will not allocate.

[ninjadude]

Yep, which has about as much memory to store two emails with attachments. Yamoto is right. All one needs is Lois's email address to search email hosting servers. She sent emails to other people who definitely don't use retro-tech not that storing email inside the computer is remotely plausible.

And using forensic analysis and about 10million wasted dollars of your money, they did recover some 76K emails. Just not all of them.

[F3SS]

while I'm sure that's true, it's completely beside the point. They could have super computers for all kinds of analysis, but the ones on the DESKTOP where they apparently keep their EMAIL are not mentioned.

That's hilarious. Honestly. You are cracking me up.

[Rut Roh]

Wow ninja, this is just an absolutely awesome troll effort.... If not, well then it does make for an enjoyable read. You are trying to defend the indefensible, just on the email communication alone. Technology is not an excuse and the IRS has a sizable budget that more than covers costs on computer "replacement" and data storage. FYI....data and communication storage is not handled on an individuals terminal at the IRS. Think of it this way... if my computer crashes, does AOL, Yahoo, Google, etc. etc. lose my emails? Nope. End of argument.

[F3SS]

I've been trying to think of how a PC-PC to email system works. It doesn't. First it wouldn't be email. It'd be an in network file transfer system. I'm just a layman and that might not be accurate terminology but... If that were the case the 'emails' couldn't go to a recipient outside the building and that's just not plausible.

[+OverSword]

while I'm sure that's true, it's completely beside the point. They could have super computers for all kinds of analysis, but the ones on the DESKTOP where they apparently keep their EMAIL are not mentioned.

Dude. Those emails are not stored on your desk top. Everyones files are stored on a virtual drive on the server. I don't know much of the IT world but do know that and thanks to a recent crash am very grateful for it.

Edited June 19, 2014 by OverSword

[+OverSword]

Wow ninja, this is just an absolutely awesome troll effort.... If not, well then it does make for an enjoyable read.

I disagree. It's sad.

[Rut Roh]

Just read a different article through Politico and according to what the article says... The IRS only kept 6 months worth of records on file before May of 2013. They just dumped all communications records after 6 months. Supposedly SOP for many governmental agencies. Do as I say....not as I do.

Wow.....so much faith I have in our lovely system right now.

GOVERNMENT IS GREAT!!!!

Edited June 19, 2014 by Rut Roh

[Bama13]

That's true. In fact, the IRS policy stupidly says that they're supposed to PRINT all their emails. Talk about 1980s. But yes, apparently despite having a stupid policy, the actual IRS workers ignored it. And didn't have a backup system. These things cost money which Republicans in Congress will not allocate.

So why didn't the Democrats allocate funds when they held the House? It's a cover-up, pure and simple.

Ya know Ninja, the sad fact is that if they did this while a Republican was in office you would be singing a different tune. Sad that you let partisanship rule your life but hey, it is your life.

[ninjadude]

That's hilarious. Honestly. You are cracking me up.

do you not understand the difference between clients and servers?

[ninjadude]

. Think of it this way... if my computer crashes, does AOL, Yahoo, Google, etc. etc. lose my emails? Nope. End of argument.

yes those are WEB based emails. (does AOL still exist?). Government does not use web based email. End of argument.

[ninjadude]

Dude. Those emails are not stored on your desk top. Everyones files are stored on a virtual drive on the server. I don't know much of the IT world but do know that and thanks to a recent crash am very grateful for it.

Dude. Do you know that for sure for the IRS? I realize that in the modern world they are not. But we're talking about government. Where we saw that the VA were using computers from the 1980s.

[ninjadude]

Just read a different article through Politico and according to what the article says... The IRS only kept 6 months worth of records on file before May of 2013.

If true, then there you go. A perfectly reasonable explanation. Rather than, OMG OBAMA TOLD THEM TO DELETE THE FILES !!!!

[ninjadude]

Sad that you let partisanship rule your life but hey, it is your life.

not at all. It's the Republicans that are using the filibuster in unprecedented ways. It's not partisan to call them out on it. It's blindness to ignore it.

[+OverSword]

Dude. Do you know that for sure for the IRS? I realize that in the modern world they are not. But we're talking about government. Where we saw that the VA were using computers from the 1980s.

Go back a page or two and it's confirmed that the IRS has cutting edge systems and networks. And lets pretend that the IRS server somehow lost all of those emails, they would still exist as where ever they originated from. It's insulting that they are trying something so damned obvious, or maybe whoever trying to pull this off is just that stupid. Either way it looks like Obama has finally fulfilled his promise of the most transparent administration in American history. Impeach, impeach, impeach.

[Harte]

They'll probably turn up in Hillary's closet, like those FBI files.

And to think there is another thread here titled "Republicans playing games again" LOL

Harte

[spartan max2]

Do they really expect people to believe this crap?

[Rut Roh]

yes those are WEB based emails. (does AOL still exist?). Government does not use web based email. End of argument.

True, they do not use web based email systems.... BUUUUUUUUT, Lois Lerners terminal was not the hub of all email communications for the IRS either. Therefor, we can negate the fact that her computer crashing had anything to do with the lost emails. End of argument.